Open Thread XVIII

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And a few things are falling in to place about Robb. . Robb went public with his illness in 2009 and has written a book but that will not elevate him within the Liberals
Why has he been quiet since the Huawei outburst and with Abbott having his nanny thought bubble ? you either go all the way with the “its good ” or start pulling the remainder of your hair out.

No one else in the Coalition criticised the decision because of the ASIO advice.

The opposition finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, has stood by his comments blasting the government for blocking the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, Huawei, from tendering for work with the National Broadband Network, despite the government decision being based on advice from the security agency, ASIO.

Mr Robb, with Bronwyn Bishop and Julie Bishop, recently travelled to China at the company’s expense to visit its Shenzen headquarters. After it was revealed on Saturday that Huawei had been blocked from supplying equipment to the NBN on security grounds, Mr Robb lashed out. He told the Australian Financial Review the decision was ”the latest clumsy, offensive and unprofessional instalment of a truly dysfunctional government”.

LIBERAL frontbencher Andrew Robb’s tough criticism of the government’s decision to ban Chinese firm Huawei from supplying equipment to the national broadband network has been repudiated by senior Coalition colleagues.

Sue, its possible that Abbott knew full well that his comment would be reported, and what better way to distract from more serious matters!

Former pollies can be pulled every which way when they venture into private enterprise.

Accusations of conflict of interest often arise when a former politician tries to cash in on their time in public office.

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer found himself in just such a situation.

Downer is a director of Clive Palmer’s Resourcehouse. This week he went public, bemoaning that a Chinese company of which he is a director, Huawei, had been barred from tendering for the national broadband network after advice from ASIO.

This put him in a unique position. On the one hand, he is allied to a maverick businessman who, a fortnight ago, accused America’s CIA of trying to destabilise Australia’s interests by aligning itself with the Greens via the Rockefeller foundation. On the other, Downer has publicly advocated that Huawei, a privately owned Chinese company, be allowed to build Australia’s telecommunications network against the advice of ASIO.

But the tale gets more worrying. What hasn’t been broadcast is Downer’s role with corporate intelligence company Hakluyt, founded by former officers at MI6, Britain’s secret service. Downer, among other political and business luminaries, is on the Hakluyt international advisory board.

British businessman Neil Heywood, who was found dead in his hotel room in China in November, was an adviser to Hakluyt. The mysterious circumstances of his death have sparked a diplomatic rift between Britain and China.

and

***

Former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus sits alongside Downer on Hakluyt’s advisory board. But Argus’ role is unlikely to attract the same kind of criticism as that of a former foreign minister now embroiled in a deepening political scandal which, while not of his making, certainly could have been avoided.

It’s easy for Abbott to make a suggestion aimed at pleasing the women who vote, and easier still to palm it off to the Productivity Commission, who can be blamed at a much later date when the plan falls over.

“The opposition will have to determine whether they would drag down the quality standards of childcare services overall, or introduce an appropriate regulatory and assessment system for nannies — which would be costly and presumably also taken from the existing funding envelope.”

General Motors, the world’s largest carmaker, has confirmed that it is pulling funding from the Heartland Institute, an ultra-conservative thinktank known for its scepticism about climate change.

The decision by the GM Foundation to halt its support for Heartland after 20 years underlines the new image the carmaker is seeking to project as part of its social responsibility programme. In the past GM has itself been associated with efforts to discredit climate change science, but in recent years it has been investing heavily in green technologies and cars including the electric/petrol hybrid, the Chevy Volt.

In a statement, GM said that it now runs its business “as if climate change is real and believe we have a role to play in developing new cars, trucks and technologies that can make a difference”.

The funding cut – just $15,000 a year – is small beer for the institute, which has a multi-million dollar turnover, largely from a single anonymous donor. But it is a blow to the standing of the thinktank and to the leading role it plays as an advocate of climate change scepticism.

So let’s start with the basics. When governments grant patent, copyright or trademark protection they are intervening in the market to give particular individuals or businesses a monopoly over the commercial exploitation of that idea for up to 20 years.

For starters – copyright is assumed and does not have to be granted.

Patent rights give individuals and businesses protection from exploitation rather than the other way around. However, the system isn’t infallible as several nations eg Russia do not recognise international copyright. Therefore for example, if an Australian comes up with an original invention or work, and it’s somethig successful..you can bet your life on it that there will be cheap copy of it in the cheap junkie type shops within a few months.

There is zilch stopping people copying someone else’s invention, changing the design slightly to get around a patent.

But Gittins is right, people are often discouraged from say taking out a $500,000 loan to market a product when the product can be so easily copied and the copyright/patent protection avoided.

Shock and horror! Yet another example of the waste of the BER – fancy wanting to spend money on something as frivolous as children’s education :roll:

THE ability to use internet search engines such as Google in the classroom is fastly becoming the new way of learning for students at Browns Plains High School.

Now, instead of writing down all of their notes, the students are able to type up their lessons and save slide shows.

Last year, the school purchased 700 brand new laptops to hand out to students in Years 9, 10 and 11 to use on a permanent basis from funds the school received through the Building and Education Revolution (BER).

School principal Mark Blackshaw decided to purchase the laptops instead of building more computer labs.

He said the laptops were more practical as he merged his school towards a new digital age of learning.

“We have to start shifting how the kids learn because they live in a digital and connected world,” Mr Blackshaw said.

Bacchus, that reminds me of when I was a Disability Advocate. That was a 3 year job..a HREOC case and Anti-Discrimination NSW…not that I ever got paid.

This young lad with Aspgerger’s couldn’t write, but by hell kids are quick on their mobile phones. Therefore with the assistance of Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tony Attwood, it was recommended that the lad be taught keyboard skills. This was rejected by the school.

EVERY child these days should be taught computer use. We take it for granted that children all know these things, so how more important is it for children from low income and other disadvantaged familes have access to these daily in the class room.

Today it seems inconceivable that every home doesn’t have at least one computer – howver, there are plenty which don’t, especially Indigenous families.

How disadvantaged are children who do not have access to a computer. Today it would be almost impossible for a child to even write an assignment without a computer – the alternative being what? Go to the library only to find that there is a 2 week wait for the book to be returned..too bad, the assignment is due in on Monday.

Broken Hill High here in the far west of NSW have also slashed costs in teacher training. Where they once sent one teacher away to Sydney to get the latest up-to-date and then come back and try to up date the rest of staff. They now have all staff training via a video link-up in the newly built BER funded IT classroom. A saving of travel costs(flights,accom,taxi etc), costs associated while staff away(casual teachers etc) and with all staff doing the training, a better understanding of the training topic. These are on going savings that benifit the school in other areas.

Yes Min – I well remember when son was in year 7. We went up to the local prestigious Private School (John Paul College) to sit the exam for a scholarship. This would have been in 1998. Even then, parents were expected to buy a laptop from the school for every student entering year 8. The school provided all the software and servicing of the computers, but that came at the up-front cost parents had to pay.

Luckily, son didn’t win a scholarship there :)

ps. I just checked the current JPC laptop program – all students from year 4 onwards must have school provided laptops now, these days leased for a minimum of 3 years from the school.

‘A 106-YEAR-OLD legal opinion written by a former chief justice of the High Court has been unearthed by lawyers for the South Australian government to scuttle the national plan for the Murray-Darling river system.

‘The document, Waters of Murray River and its Tributaries and Interstate Rights to Divert Them, was found by the government’s external legal team in the state’s archives during preparations for High Court action being threatened over the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft plan.’

thanks to those links from earlier today, some good reading there. Robb is a worry with his comments, however it appears his own side of politics is the side more interested in damaging him. There is something going on within the Liberals.
On Schools and the new age of learning. A friends grandkids have all their homework online. Tough hey, no excuses.

Downer may have afew more thoughts on Bo and the latest crackdown in China
“The campaign, which was announced late Friday and put in place in stages through Saturday, was directly linked to the political instability that has gripped China since one of its most charismatic politicians, Bo Xilai, lost his post in mid-March. That spurred rumors of a coup, which the government-run Xinhua news agency cited as the reason for the measures

stemmed from disagreement among senior leaders over whether to remove Mr. Bo, who is undergoing an investigation for corruption and abuse of power.

and from your link
“Heywood died in the southern city of Chongqing. Until a fortnight ago, the region was governed by Bo Xilai, a rising star in Chinese politics who was destined this year to sit on the elite nine-member standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo.

This month Bo was sacked after his former deputy fled to the American consulate, where he raised the possibility of foul play in Heywood’s death.

Heywood was cremated immediately after he died. There was no autopsy and his ashes were handed to his family. The British embassy in Beijing has now demanded a fresh investigation, and Beijing now seems willing.”

THE biggest price cuts in the history of the nation’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will hit chemist shelves today, delivering big savings to families.
Prices will be slashed on 1000 brands of 60 popular prescription medicines by up to $14 per script.

Some of the most widely used medications, including scores of antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, cholesterol controllers, laxatives, blood pressure and heart drugs, will fall in price, thanks to a Gillard government move which brings drug costs into line with the market price.

“Speaking at a carbon farming forum organised by Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, Mr Dreyfus encouraged farmers, land owners, local government and other stakeholders to utilise the Carbon Farming Initiative to generate extra income by reducing agricultural and landfill waste pollution.
“Climate change poses a serious risk to the future of Australian agriculture and food production, with scientists confirming a strong link to less predictable and more intense weather events. Over the next six years, the Gillard Government will support the land sector by investing $1.7 billion dollars of carbon price revenue to support the CFI and other programs to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability,” said Mr Dreyfus.

While in the region, the Parliamentary Secretary also visited Casino West Public School, which received funding under the National Solar Schools Program, and met with local councils to discuss the CFI and the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan. ”

good story, And the Tele has it online @11.58pm it is such a good story I expect to see it in the news for days. Wouldn’t that be an April Fools joke, the Tele printing good news for Gillard govt and the punters.

More savings for families, but haven’t the pharmacists been doing well, from that link

“But in many cases, pharmacists have been buying lower-cost drugs – including generic versions of well-known brands – from wholesalers, and still claiming the full government rebate.

Pharmacists were then able to pocket the difference – at huge expense to the taxpayer.

Now, the government’s “price disclosure” agreement, which comes into effect today, requires the drug industry to reveal the true market price of that drug. The government will now only pay the market price, rather than the previous set price.

That means the checkout price will fall, and the government will only reimburse pharmacists for the market price, plus a small profit margin.”

Now here is a real april fools joke, the Tele accusing Barrel O ‘Lies of LYING!

“PREMIER Barry O’Farrell is being accused of lying about a state government report into school speed zones as well as violating parliamentary rules and his own ministerial code of conduct.

The Sunday Telegraph last week revealed the Staysafe committee had recommended the government consider enforcing 40km/h zones outside schools up to 24 hours a day.

But the Premier, who has also been accused of trying to influence the report by improperly contacting the committee’s chairman before it was tabled in parliament, wrongly claimed the recommendation did not exist.”

VIVA Las Coolum: Queensland’s richest man Clive Palmer is set to gamble on his boldest business venture yet – creating a mini Las Vegas on the Sunshine Coast.
The multi-billionaire mining magnate is looking at luring Asian high-rollers by adding a casino to his luxury resort and golf course in the sleepy tourist town.

I can’t help wondeing how many pokie machines will be made available for the locals in order to add to Queensland’s coffers.

and

Mr Palmer, the Liberal National Party’s biggest donor, would need approval from the newly elected State Government but that is unlikely to be a barrier.

How Mr. Reith found the time to leave The Drum to do this program is a mystery, although he’ll no doubt smile his gormless ‘trust me’ smile and
worm his way out of having to explain his previous actions!

Gawd, Angry Anderson, “oh, Mike”, and Peter Reith, all in the one show….
too much…!

So the Premier’s advisor had worked for Star casino for 16 years. And the advisor’s partner was one of the complainants. And Packer, with the Premiers backing, wants to open a rival casino.

Not much in that story, the public hearings, ‘to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Mr Vaikunta over inappropriate ”behaviour in a social work setting” and the timeliness in which Echo reported the affair to regulatory authorities’ will probably be over quite quickly.

He and Abbott would be in lock step. Both were educated by the Jesuits at Riverview, the great Catholic boys’ school on the banks of the Lane Cove River. While Abbott’s roots are sunk in the barren rocks of the nasty old Democratic Labor Party, Joyce is a pork-barrelling Queensland primitive in the Joh Bjelke-Petersen mould. But in the end they converge. Each is an unashamed right-wing populist who will say anything to get elected: stop the boats, axe the tax, climate change is crap, the prime minister is a liar. Sloganeering for the talkback and tabloid masses is so much easier than the unspectacular grind of making public policy.
Even more so than Abbott, Joyce comes with the added baggage of a touchy-feely chumminess with the mining magnates Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart. Last year he flew in Rinehart’s private jet as her guest at the sumptuous, three-day wedding of an Indian industrialist in Hyderabad, a frolic he described as ”absolutely mind-blowing”. A few weeks ago he inserted himself into the Rinehart family inheritance feud, revealing that he had written to one of the estranged daughters urging her to drop her case against Mummy.
Imagine it: Barnaby Joyce, MP, the Member for Rinehart and Acting Prime Minister of Australia whenever Abbott slips into the lycra and goes off cycling.
THE aged-care industry is one of the gre

The Telstra Fibre Experience Centre is a travelling showcase that demonstrates Telstra services and products working live on the NBN, which has been rolled out in the area of Armidale surrounding the university
Telstra Country Wide area general manager Tricia Wilson said the centre was a chance for local residents to learn more about the improvements to services, NBN would bring to the region.

“We’re really excited because this is about helping our customers understand what they can do with NBN in their home,” Ms Wilson said
An on-site speed test showed the NBN had a download rate of 92 megabytes per second, compared to 20 megabytes per second with an ADSL2 connection.

He and Abbott would be in lock step. Both were educated by the Jesuits at Riverview, the great Catholic boys’ school on the banks of the Lane Cove River.

After reading about their old school my conclusion is that Joyce and Abbott failed to take on board the important ethical considerations of caring for the most vulnerable, favouring instead, the selfish road of cynical politics.

Ignatian Service
“Helping Souls” was a primary concern for Ignatius and came from his desire, like Jesus, to be at the service of those who are left out, ostracised, isolated and/or thought to be unimportant. It is these other people living on the margins of our society that Ignatius chose to be with and it is these same people that we are challenged to stand with and for today in the churches.”
(“Preferential option for the poor.)

Our Ignatian tradition calls us to enter into solidarity with the poor, the marginalised, and the voiceless, in order to enable their participation in the processes that shape the society in which we all live and work. They in turn teach us about our own poverty as no document can.

It’s easy to come down harsh on religion, but let’s have a look at the ethics..

Ignatian Service
“Helping Souls” was a primary concern for Ignatius and came from his desire, like Jesus, to be at the service of those who are left out, ostracised, isolated and/or thought to be unimportant.

This does not mean to say that the religion as he/she is practiced is worthy…but let’s not blame the original intent.

It was the hard right of the Liberal Party, led by Chris Hartcher, the Energy Minister, and his fellow factional warlord, David Clarke, that put the subject on the agenda.
The Hartcher-Clarke forces briefed journalists during the government’s one-year anniversary coverage that they would back Baird in any baton change. This has put Baird head and shoulders above O’Farrell’s preferred successor, the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian. Baird is from the Liberal left but his conservative family views appeal to the Christian right.
In a bid to assert more influence over O’Farrell, the right has established a new sub-group, the Conservative Forum, led by Hartcher, the Attorney-General, Greg Smith, the Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, and the Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts.
Moderate and centre-right MPs say everything is not as it seems with the Conservative Forum. ”It’s a sabre-rattling exercise,” one Liberal source said. ”Its formation is a symptom the right is suffering a relevance deficit, having seen its candidates rolled in five of the past five federal preselections in NSW.”

Bridget Abbott’s new public profile is being overseen by her father’s parliamentary office to shield the 19-year-old from making any political ”gotcha” moments for Tony Abbott.
The Opposition Leader’s youngest daughter made her fashion debut yesterday as one of the ambassadors for the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
When The Sun-Herald called the Australian Turf Club to speak to Ms Abbott about the trend of politicians’ children taking up modelling, the paper was referred to Mr Abbott’s press secretary and told Ms Abbott does not have her own agent. ”[Bridget] is being managed by Tony Abbott’s media agents,” the BMW Sydney Carnival’s PR agency, Torstar Communications, said in an email. Asked on Friday whether taxpayer dollars were being used to foot the bill for media inquiries about Ms Abbott’s activities, a spokesman for Mr Abbott said his office was not acting as her agents.

THE pokies war is over.
The poker machine industry has claimed victory and has called off its controversial $40 million campaign that targeted worried Labor MPs in the Government’s most marginal seats.

In a big boost for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her team, more than 4200 clubs across the country will be told today to remove anti-Labor propaganda after Clubs Australia decided it was happy with the Government’s watered-down reforms.

Specifically targeting 41 Labor electorates in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, the grassroots campaign will now scrap 2.5 million beer coasters, thousands of posters and banners, cease advertising and order staff to stop wearing campaign uniforms.

The campaign was launched to stop reforms hatched with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie that would have seen the rollout of mandatory pre-commitment (MPC) technology in 2014.

A group of colleagues has all but solved one of the greatest remaining puzzles in climate science. But the story is not one of scientific triumph – rather, it is so embarrassing that we had controversial discussions in our group whether to break this to a wider public at all.

Clive Palmer’s Gold Coast United has lost its Supreme Court bid to secure an injunction against its expulsion from the A-League.

The struggling Gold Coast United club was axed from the competition on Tuesday, following a series of alleged breaches of its participation agreement to play in the A-League.

Justice Jean Dalton refused the application for an injunction about 7.45pm.

She ruled the wearing of the “Freedom of Speech” slogan was not a material breach of the club participation agreement, but Mr Palmer’s repetitive comments, particularly on Feburary 19 and 20, were a serious matter and she did consider them to be a materail breach.

Mr. Palmer boasted recently that he had won 68 Court cases and lost none;
what a busy little litigant he is.

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell has made a submission to the inquiry supporting the traditional definition of marriage.

But two of Sydney’s most high-profile Catholic women – Kristina Keneally and Clover Moore – have put in their own submissions disagreeing with their Archbishop.

Kristina Keneally said that taking a contrary view to church teaching was not a position she had come to lightly.

”It is formed by prayer, reading, and reflection. It gives me no relish to be at odds with my church,” she said. ”But it also gives me no joy to see people who are created in God’s image unable to fully express their humanity, or live with the rights and dignity that heterosexual people are afforded. I act in good conscience – as a Catholic, I can do nothing else.”

Palmer knows where the money is. One thing that astounds me is how multi-millionaires such as Palmer can want to be involved in the gambling industry. It’s a bit like taking the torn shirt off a beggar’s back.

A poll, sponsored by a denialist think tank, fails to get the results, but that doesn’t stop ltd news from putting their slant on it

A Galaxy poll for the Institute of Public Affairs found 18 per cent of people regard the country’s official climate change spokesman as “somewhat unreliable”, while 7 per cent consider him “very unreliable”. Less than a third, 31 per cent, found him somewhat or very reliable.

Sometimes this is true. But 99 percent of the time “flexibility” is code for “free for all” in the labour market. Ultimately that means the boss gets to dictate the hours and conditions of work. Most people working in retail and hospitality, where casualisation rates are among highest, know this from experience: you get work when the rush is on and are sent home when it’s slow. An employee’s preference for hours may be taken into consideration, but only insofar as it corresponds to the employer’s actual needs.

This is what the bosses want. The bosses utopia, the workers hell. Once again bact ti the past, the master, servant regime.

You expect nothing less from this Opposition.

Insecure labour boosts profits at the expense of workers in a number of ways.

Firstly employers save money by paying less in wages. It is usually illegal to undercut the Award (although many do), so the easiest way to reduce the wage bill is to reduce the total amount of hours worked. If everyone were full time, that wouldn’t be possible without sacking someone. But with the rise of “flexible” labour, hours of work can be altered significantly, depending on the needs of the firm.

Secondly, the risk of undertaking business is transferred more readily onto the shoulders of the workforce. If business is slow, the boss can offset more of the cost simply by not engaging those employees s/he decides are unnecessary. The “risk profile” of the investment, as it is called in finance, is much more favourable when potential losses can be mitigated in this way.

Thirdly, the rate of exploitation can be increased by putting more pressure on those workers who remain permanent and full time. One “big picture” illustration of this is the relationship between underemployment and overwork. On one hand there are over 850,000 part timers who would like to work more hours, but can’t get them. On the other, there are 2.2 million who would prefer to work fewer hours (more than 1.8 million of whom work upwards of 50 hours per week).

By under-working the former group of employees, the latter can be more effectively screwed. The total amount of work that gets done is then much more than the actual price paid for its performance. Research by the Australia Institute suggests that the total amount of unpaid overtime performed by full time permanent staff totals a whopping $72 billion every year.

Lastly, precarious employment allows bosses to create a more pliant workforce. When people already have fewer rights they are less confident to speak up about unsafe work practices, or to stand up to bullying or harassment. The fact that so many are desperate to get a few more hours – or to be put on permanently – make them more likely to just put up with whatever shit the boss is doling out, just to make sure they still have a job tomorrow. In the longer term, this process is an important way for the bosses to try and undermine the power of the trade unions (which, compounding the problem, have been unsuccessful at breaking into the casualised sectors of the workforce).

Sue I hope the new ABC Chairman sweeps the IPA/coal and tobacco promoters out of the ABC completely; they should be promoting their opinions in a commercial setting, not out of the ABC’s government revenue stream.

Tom,Well, I don’t recall her saying that. I do recall her saying that others can call it a tax if they want. Not the same thing. Can we call them Liars now?

Why not, that’s what they are!

I heard Fran Kelly this morning, running interference, trying to block Mr. Combet’s perfectly articulated responses with her comment that the Prime Minister did say “carbon tax”…thankfully Greg Combet shot her down in a second.

THE Gillard government is preparing to launch its proposed $15 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme next financial year with substantial start-up funding to be announced as a central feature of the federal budget.
Julia Gillard has placed overhauling the way the nation supports and cares for Australians with a disability at the core of Labor’s social equity agenda.

Wayne Swan told social welfare advocates this week that the May budget would not be a “choice between surplus or social policy” because budget management made social improvements possible and sustainable, and enabled the government room to deliver big, forward-looking reforms.

The Treasurer foreshadowed that existing programs would be reduced or axed to find savings in the face of dwindling revenue.

This is Bazza, two days after the Government announcement!

Gillard government is failing to engage with states on reform, says Barry O’Farrell
by: Lanai Vasek
From: The AustralianApril 02, 2012

JULIA Gillard and Wayne Swan have been accused by the Victorian government of perpetrating a “cruel hoax” on disabled Australians by talking up a national disability insurance scheme before any funding deal has been put to the states.
And the West Australian government has cited the proposed NDIS as evidence federal Labor is in the habit of “committing fully to projects without having much idea how much the projects will cost”.

It is a Google blog (or, at least the account I sue on it is Google), and I have not logged into that account since they started amalgamating all Google accounts into one. So it might be that it is Kaput :(

Agree, the PM should not ponder on the headlines or polls. She should keep going as she is now. Forget about Mr. Abbott, he is of no concern. He has nothing new to add to any debate. His name does not have to be mentioned, unless he makes a mistake and says something of importance. Not much chance of that happiness.

My mother’s favourite singer was Frank Sinatra. It was out of character and the only time I question her judgement, but there was one song of his that applies to our PM today.

“I did it my way.”

The historic political massacre in the sunshine State – and the inexorable seeping Liberal tide – presents Julia Gillard with a special opportunity: to govern for the next 18 months without fear, compromise and with a big, bold and freewheeling agenda.

Cast aside the inclination to be politically timid on any issue – from tax reform, infrastructure investment, size and role of government, immigration and so on.

Jettison the silly focus groups. Forget the media cycle and the obsession with ‘winning’ the message. The media won’t comply.

Don’t play political favourites with the States. Deal with the premiers as leaders who have a serious job of governing in partnership with the commonwealth and deal with the Greens as a lobby group, not co-partners in government.

Desist from using the parliament as a cheap political stage. Ignore the taunts and the name-calling of Opposition politicians. Cut out the manic obsession with Tony Abbott. Tony can attract enough self-attention without his political opposition intervening – as the past few days have proved.

Stand above it – and simply deliver good public policy as best you can allowing for the cards you have been dealt.

This was the Australian scene a few short years ago, The highest Liberal in the land was Mr. Newman, as Brisbane mayor.

It can and probably will swing back the other way. It appears to be the nature of Australian politics for well over the last half century or more.

Mr. Howard at one stage had to deal with all Labor Premiers.

There is much rubbish being written.

The Rudd government completed a clean sweep of Labor government’s across the country. For the first time in Australian history Labor was in power federally and in every state and territory. It capped a quarter century of success for the Labor Party since its sweep to office in most states in the early 1980s. Labor has had more electoral success since 1980 than at any time in its history.

Yet just five years on from its 2006-7 high-point, some are predicting the demise of the Labor Party.

The first is that the party in office federally clearly has a deleterious impact on that party’s representation across the country. Every period of federal Coalition government since 1969 has seen a rise in Labor representation, and every period of federal Labor government has seen a decline in Labor representation.

Second, the three formations of federal Labor governments since 1969 have coincided with new peaks in Labor representation. Labor’s representation has nose-dived since 2010, but it is a bit hard to say this is somehow structural rather than cyclical when you compare it with the four decades previous.

A third point to make is that safe seats don’t seem to be as safe as they used to be, especially in urban areas. In 2002 the Bracks Labor government won middle class seats that Labor would never have dreamt of winning previously. At the NSW and Queensland elections, the Liberal Party/LNP won seats they had never previously held.

What you make of the graph above and the next one depends on which bits you think are most important. Focus on the last three years and it is all about Labor demise. Focus on the five years before that it is about record Labor success. Scan the four decades and it is all about ebbs and flows.

The next graph removes the Federal seats and just concentrates on state Labor representation. Again the shading shows the party composition of the federal government in the same period.

The graph again shows the impact of party composition at the federal level on state representation for Labor. It reveals more clearly the period of Labor state success since 2000, but also more starkly how Labor’s representation has fallen off a cliff at the last two state elections.

As the graph shows, Labor briefly held a majority of state seats between 1982 and 1985. Labor’s greatest state success however has been since 2001, when the unpopularity of the Howard government played a part in the defeat of conservative governments in Western Australia and the Northern Te

Cu, at the time there were several on the nose Labor state governments and the only reason that they weren’t tossed was because nobody in their right mind would have wanted to hand even more power over to John Howard.

The more Liberal state governments elected, giving due regard to the fact that we’re not looking at a federal election for quite some time – then the Libs at state government level have plenty of time to be on the nose with the electorate..in fact, they’re already excelling themselves in this regard. This therefore encourages people to stop and have a think: Do we really want Tony Abbott to be Australia’s Prime Minister?

The industrial watchdog is expected to reveal the broad findings of its investigation into the Health Services Union’s (HSU) national office, and the union’s former boss Craig Thomson, on Tuesday.

Fair Work Australia has yet to guarantee all of the details of the investigation – which in part looked at alleged credit card misuse by Mr Thomson, who now sits as a federal Labor MP – will be publicly released.

FWA kicked off an inquiry into the union’s finances in April 2009 but it became a fully fledged investigation in March 2010.

It has been alleged the credit card in the name of Mr Thomson, as the union’s national secretary from 2002 to 2007, was used to pay for prostitutes, lavish meals and cash withdrawals.

TWENTY faith leaders have signed a letter urging people to declare their support for same sex marriage to two federal parliamentary inquiries on the issue.

The move follows six Victorian Catholic bishops writing to their parishioners to tell them allowing gay couples to marry would be a ”grave mistake” and would undermine the institution of marriage.

Signatories of the pro-gay marriage letter, organised by the gay marriage campaigners Australian Marriage Equality, include the Sydney Uniting Church minister Bill Crews, the Baptist minister Mike Hercock, the Metropolitan Community Church pastor Karl Hand and the Outreach Ministries church fellowship senior pastor Shane Anderson.

‘BOB Brown’s kooky speech to his “fellow Earthians” deserves greater scrutiny. Apart from providing an insight into the Greens plan for a universal world government, it makes clear the dilemma confronting the Gillard government.

‘With fewer than three in every 10 people now identifying Labor as their political party of first choice, Julia Gillard has two options: she can continue chasing the votes of her fellow Earthians to the left, or she can rejoin the contest for the mainstream Australia.’

Laws -Tell me the difference between a levy and a tax
Abbott – Well…umm…John…we can speculate all day
Laws – No, no we don’t need to speculate.
Abbott – I accept John, I absolutely accept that the paid parental leave scheme does have to be paid for and it is going to be paid for by a levy which you prefer to call a tax, it will be paid for by a levy or a tax if you prefer that term..um.. on larger companies.

Now, I wonder if this revelation will get the same frenzied attack that Gillards “I don’t care if you call it a tax’ got.

Even though, Gillards argument is not if a fixed price is a tax or not, it is simply not The Carbon Tax that was being referred to at the time. No wonder she didn’t want to play semantic games, it was (well, should have been) irrelevant.

I see on trusty 9 news tonight that “the Federal Government” is in a bit more strife. Yes, “the Federal Government” is in a bit of trouble with representatives of the old folks’ carers, & “the Federal Government” is in the S.A. Government’s bad books over the Murray Darling.
But not everyone from those parts is in trouble, some are showing quite a generous spirit. We learn in a segment on the Fiji floods that “Canberra” is sending a million dollars in relief aid. It didn’t specify what part of “Canberra” is doing the giving. Perhaps Sophie Mirabella’s organised something or the people running the Fyshwyck mobile lunch trolley have passed the hat round. Does anybody know?

No el grodo, Chris Kenny has been off key for years!
The best he can come up with is the same old slanted lines from the Liberal handbook, even the same silly words, ie. “Earthians”, as his fellow traveller, Perce Akerman.

Five former employees, three of whom agreed to be named, have said they witnessed Mr Akerman “sexually harass” female members of his staff, according to a 1991 story in a rival newspaper.

Alleged assault threat

One of the most controversial episodes in Akerman’s life was his alleged threat to assault the literary editor of The Advertiser, Shirley Stott Despoja. The dispute ended before a full bench of the Supreme Court where the newspaper appealed against Stott Despoja’s successful worker’s compensation claim for stress-related sick leave pay. Stott Despoja alleged: “I was physically threatened by the editor while alone with him in an office in a dispute over my work.” The appeal by The Advertiser was dismissed and Stott Despoja won her $4000 claim.

Defamation

In 2006, former director of NRMA Richard James Talbot was awarded a $200,000 defamation payout plus costs. In regards to one point the judgment read “The inaccuracies of fact by the defendant [Akerman] on this topic are gross”.

AUSTRALIA’S greatest ancient Aboriginal rock art detailing kangaroos, turtles and humans on boulders in the remote Pilbara area will be studied under a US$1.1 million deal announced Monday.
Tens of thousands of the indigenous works, which are scattered over the mineral-laden region, will be researched and catalogued under a six-year agreement between the University of Western Australia and miner Rio Tinto.

Although one of the world’s richest collections of Aboriginal art, the carvings which lie on the National Heritage-listed Dampier Archipelago, about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) north of Perth, have never been fully documented.

Daily show 2nd April, at about 58 minutes, to save you listening to the whole thing.
stay tuned until you hear John’ comments about his dictionary research and his snipe at Abbott after he has left the studio

Quite true, Cu. How often do we hear nasty comments about the size of .. oh.. let’s say… Joe Hockey’s bum??
Has any journalist ever called Tony Abbott on his aggressive, testoserone driven bullying tactics??

If Mr. Wilkie believed that others could be bought on side to support what he wants in his bill, why has he not delivered them to the government. The reason in my opinion, is that it’s wishful thinking on the part of Mr. Wilkie. Maybe he should see the world as it ism not as he would like it.

Mr. Wilkie did spend much time in WA, talking to Mr. Crook.

No matter what one would like to think, politics is the art of the possible, always has been.

Mr Wilkie said the government didn’t try hard enough to get the numbers for his pokies reforms.

WA Nationals MP Tony Crook, who has no poker machines in his electorate, was never lobbied, Mr Wilkie said.

‘The government never wanted to get the numbers and now it doesn’t even appear to want to progress the watered-down reforms,’ Mr Wilkie said.

Yet one of Newman’s senior ministers, in direct contradiction to (Alfred E) Newman has stated that the Queensland government will need to grow in order to meet Newman’s election promises, with one of the core ones being to increase frontline services, along with increasing employment, probably by allowing more holes to be dug up in environmentally sensitive areas and oil exploration to go ahead on the Barrier Reef, and cutting the budget, whilst somehow miraculously increasing services, a favoured magical trick of conservative leaders when promising the world they know they have no hope of delivering.

National Secretary of the Health Services Union, Kathy Jackson, joins us to respond to news that Fair Work Australia’s investigation into the Health Services Union National Office is complete, and the entire investigation report has been referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

KATHY JACKSON: Before I answer your question, I just want to make it quite clear that I’m not here as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union as I’ve been gagged by national executive. I’m here as a private citizen and a member of the Health Services Union. I’ve not… and to answer your question now, I’ve not seen the report. The report has not been provided to me. I note that in Miss O’Neill’s media release she states that on the 28th that we received such a report. I have not received such a report. If anyone else in the union has received it they’ve not provided it to me.

Ms Jackson says she speaks as a private citizen and a member of the Health Services Union, and not as the National Secretary of the Health Services Union. Can she not see, or doesn’t she care that viewers might see her as both under the circumstances.
Like Senator Brandis she’s un-inclined to let the process take it’s course and wait for the official response.

“More than £1bn of public funds will be allocated to a new push to develop carbon capture and storage technology, that could create an industry with 100,000 jobs, with the revival of a government-sponsored competition to design the first workable demonstration project.
predicted that a CCS industry could be worth £6.5bn a year to the UK economy by the end of the 2020s, by which time there could be 20GW to 30GW of power plants using the technology – the equivalent of 12 to 20 large power stations.

If the plans are successful, the first demonstration plants are likely to come onstream between 2016 and 2020. Companies must register their bids by 13 April, under European Union regulations.”

“Bean-counters at the gates of Queensland
And here I was thinking that Queensland wasn’t about to return to the Dark Ages. That nice, “comparatively urbane” Campbell Newman wouldn’t do anything really dumb in his first fortnight, like, say, axe the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards. Would he?

i look forward to reading the “email’ from Barry, funny how there was all talk about smashing the casino and the casino has all the texts. i wondered how the casino would have the texts, surmised that grimshaw and the girlfriend must have had work mobiles that were returned on resignation.

then it becomes all the more intriguing when this year we read how barry was backing packer on a new casino

Cu, Ms Jackson used an old trick in her answers to Uhllman’s very leading questions…

CHRIS UHLMANN: So what do you make of this investigation? There’s already an Ombudsman inquiry into it, should there be more?

KATHY JACKSON: I think there definitely should be more. I believe there should be a judicial inquiry into the goings-on at Fair Work Australia. I believe that either it’s… you know, when I say, “I believe”, I also include in that, “the public have already made up their minds, the members of the Health Services Union have made up their minds and I believe the media’s made up their minds.”

CHRIS UHLMANN: You say the public’s made up their minds, your members have made up their minds – what do they think, then, of Fair Work Australia? What do you think they have made up their minds about?

Packer also wants a casino in perth. And clive wanting a casino on the sunshine coast

makes you laugh when you see the angst over poker machines. where was wilkie thinking he would get support for his ideals when he withdrew support from the govt. sure ain’t the liberals.

my sick sense of humour had me laughing that RSL clubs were worried about clive’s plans. just how much money did they put up to defeat the gillard pokie plan only to have billionaire clive scoop the results

“The chief executive officer of RSL and Services Clubs Association, Penny Wilson, says it is hard to tell if Mr Palmer is being serious.

“If it was to come to fruition the club industry as a whole would be very concerned about it,” she said

ALP National President Michael Williamson has launched an audacious bid for control of the troubled Victorian wing of the Health Services Union, creating an eastern states conglomerate run by factional ally and the union’s national secretary Kathy Jackson.

The HSU’s national council met in Sydney yesterday to pass the changes, which will see the Victorian No. 1 and No. 3 branches dissolved and merged into a new super-entity, or “eastern branch” run from Sydney. Under the terms of the merger, around 15,000 Victorian members will be effectively absorbed into the 35,000-strong NSW branch.

Williamson will oversee the new entity, with Kathy Jackson serving as executive president.

Long read…

Last year, the Victorian HSU was placed into administration by the Federal Court, as tension between the Fegan and Jackson camps turned vicious.

Subsequent elections saw forces aligned to Jackson, her former-husband and Victorian Senator David Feeney scrape over the line in a three-way race. The election was marked by a poisonous campaign that included current Assistant Secretary Jamie Martorana’s portrayal as a leather-clad gimp and claims of sham post office boxes apparently designed to filter votes.

Fegan had previously released HSU credit card statements with charges linking Jeff Jackson to an escort agency, an allegation he vehemently denied. The scandal then engulfed Federal Member for Dobell, Craig Thomson, with claims circulating that Thomson had used another credit card to bankroll his 2007 federal election bid. Those allegations have been examined as part of a Senate estimates hearing and are disputed.

ONE of Victoria’s most powerful unions is in chaos after a fight broke out yesterday between two of its leaders.

Police were called to the headquarters of the Health Services Union No. 1 branch after a tussle involving the national secretary, Kathy Jackson, and her arch enemy, state president Pauline Fegan.

Last night Ms Jackson obtained an interim intervention order against Ms Fegan, saying she now feared for her safety and would press charges.

Ms Fegan in turn accused Ms Jackson of starting the fight and wrote to the union’s national executive, calling on it to immediately stand down the national secretary for ‘‘abusing and assaulting members’’.

The scuffle is the latest eruption in a bitter battle for control of the ALP-affiliated union between forces loyal to Ms Fegan and supporters of Ms Jackson.

Last night’s extraordinary claims by former ALP Administrative Committee member and HSU national secretary Kathy Jackson that her Labor government was guilty of political interference with the Fair Work Australia investigation into corruption in her union could be coming from within the organisation itself, insiders say.

Jackson’s fiancé or partner is Michael Lawler, a high-ranking official within FWA, appointed by Tony Abbott when he was minister.

Lawler is universally regarded as a nice chap, agreeing to host very festive parties in Fair Work Australia premises that required extensive cleaning, some say, while also agreeing somewhat late in life to sport “nipple-rings” which have been on display at Melbourne pool parties from time to time. Living the dream.

I had missed that bit last time I read it Pip. Which puts this line, which I thought was stupid to begin with, in a whole new light.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Mr Abbott was suggesting that the institutional go-slow was because it was trying to help out the Government.

This dragging on is doing nothing to help Labor, just adding to its woes. Considering tabots fingers have been in the pie since way back, the go slow could be coming from anywhere.

Does the union have a Gretch?

Also, why do the major media outlets not mention this sort of thing, instead focussing everything on Thompson? Surely the story is larger than that, especially considering the now infamous ‘shovel’ incident, which turned out to belong to Jackson in the first place. Then everything went quiet over that.

Sue @12.10am and the sicker thing is that a good majority of RSL Clubs are no longer run and operated by the RSL – they were sold, and quite a long time ago. The proviso of the sales was that the clubs maintained and displayed the RSL memorabilia. Operated for the benefit of members and their guests..hardly…

Reading through the link put up by Pip on indigenous art in WA…. they point to SL during the Holocene Climate Optimum

“So the sea level rose to where it is now about 7,000 years ago and a lot of the art there has been produced after that time, so we’ve pictures of turtles and fish and sharks and other marine animals that obviously record that phase.”

Time for the Liberal party to call for names to be published over criminal activity in building game in victoria.

Oh wait, hang on, better wait for evidence……..Its the Watchdog and the builders in the headlines

‘UP TO 30 officials and consultants who work for Victoria’s building industry watchdog are being investigated for alleged corruption, serious misconduct and harassment.

State Ombudsman George Brouwer is examining allegations that several officials of the Victorian Building Commission sought – and accepted – kickbacks from building industry practitioners.

A main area of concern within the commission is its compliance and investigations section, which examines complaints against builders and surveyors. The section in recent years has been staffed by several former Victoria Police detectives, including one who left the force after being suspended for misconduct.

Mr Pearson commented on the suitability of the commission’s investigators in his 2010 report, writing: ”The commission’s investigators are recruited from police or other investigative backgrounds and thus have extensive experience in conducting investigations

“‘December 6/8 2011: Allegations of sexual harassment made against Sid Vaikunta by Mr Grimshaw’s partner and another woman.

December 14, 2011: Government receives Furness report warning of some casino practices but clearing the casino to keep its licence

December 21: Text message exchange where Grimshaw suggests to partner that he tell his close friend George Souris about the harassment allegations so he will ring Echo board chair John Story. Also discussions between the pair about how they can make nuisance calls to push the allegations.

16 January 2012: Texts between Grimshaw and his partner in which Grimshaw gives partner Echo board member John O’Neill’s number

17 January 2012: O’Neill receives crank call from a woman claiming to know about sexual harassment at the casino.”

Interesting that Ms Jackson’s former husband was accused of the same things she’s now accusing Mr Thompson of… This saga is a lot more complex than the simpletons who have him tried, convicted, hung, drawn and quartered, would like to acknowledge…

if you look at the tele online they have a photo of thompson, i assume, about to come out of his front gate. but the tele has cropped the photo for a headshot and just by chance he is “looking out through bars” guilt by photo-editing

FWA says it is not qualified to judge whether any of these breaches may also constitute criminal activity so it has sent the whole report to the DPP, rather than the police, to make that determination.

Perhaps the government should release the report. IF there was a possibility of Mr Thompson being charged with an offence, the resultant uproar from the likes of Abbott, Brandis and Co. would almost certainly ensure that Mr Thompson could not receive a fair trial. Case dismissed due to the efforts of the Coalition. They should be careful they don’t get what they wish for…

Here is a positive story about manufacturing in Victoria, it counters all those negative stories. But if you do a search you probably won’t find it in the newspapers. Ted Bailleau was so happy he had it on his own web site

“GSK injects $60 million and 58 jobs at Boronia site ”
GlaxoSmith Kline

Now it was announced back on 3 feb 2012, i saw it on the tele today.
It is a big investment by GSK in australia for sales in the Asian market, As part of the deal they are partnering with a university and other companies will be able to use its manufacturing facilities.

Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?

I certainly do not anymore.

He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.

While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.

Problem is, so many cannot separate the real world from the make believe world of media and the internet.

The other problem is that Tony Abbott wants the process to operate like business.

What, like the Murdochrocy which simply throws enough money at any victim of phone tapping sufficient cash to avoid a trial and the truth becoming public.

What, like the Murdochrocy which offloads companies to avoid action.

What, like the Murdochrocy which shreads all evidence shuts down a paper in an attempt to isolate blame to a few employees.

What like the Murdochrocy which claims that governments from the top job accept responsibility yet the top at News Limited refuse to accept responsibility.

Businesses do absolutely everything within their power to halt and bury any accusations or even real charges, by dragging cases on for years and years through delaying tactics and as soon as this ends an out of court settlement is quickly negotiated so that nothing becomes public.

I suggest that under the business standards I have seen on many an occasion, Craig Thompson offer to pay $X to the Union as an ex gratia payment while refusing and denying any liability and on condition that silence forms part of the payment.

That way the allegations would be dealt with under business rules as per Tony Abbotts request. Deception, Lies, Manipulation, Cash and Stalling tactics galore.

Shane and Does anyone in Australia honestly think that Craig Thompson would recieve a fair trial in this country ?

I certainly do not anymore.

He has been ridiculed, vilified, accused, tried, found guilty and sentenced by the opposition, the media and sites such as this on the internet.

While in the real world he is yet to have charges laid against him.

Which is precisely what we’ve been saying here over many months, ever since this issue appeared in the press.

I beg to differ about sites such as this as, while other sites were laying into Thomson people such as Tom R, Sue, Pip, Cu etc etc on this site were talking about the presumption of innocence.

We have been lambasted for this stance. I cannot speak for others here, but during the general rounds of discussion the opinion is that Thomson, the same as every other citizen is entitled to the presumption of innocent until proven guilty – this is not to mean that he isn’t guilty, he may well be – however, he is entitled to this presumption.


4 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra City 2601GPO Box 3104 Canberra ACT 2601Telephone 02 6206 5666 Facsimile 02 6257 5709
4 April 2012
Media Release
The CDPP has received a report from Fair Work Australia into the National Office of theHealth Services Union. The report is over 1100 pages long and has been provided alongwith some other material.The CDPP is not an investigation agency. It does not have investigative powers and is notable to conduct a criminal investigation. In order for a matter to be assessed as to whether aprosecution should be commenced, a criminal investigation is conducted and a brief ofevidence prepared and referred to the CDPP.The letter referring the report to the CDPP from Fair Work Australia makes it clear that FairWork Australia has not conducted a criminal investigation. The letter states that the reportdoes not consider whether any person (or body) may have contravened a provision of thecriminal law. The material forwarded is not a brief of evidence.The CDPP will examine the material forwarded and consider what further action may need tobe taken.

I wonder how many times we have to say the same thing, without it sinking in..from Cu’s link:

Mr Craigie said the letter he received from Fair Work made it clear that the industrial tribunal had not conducted a criminal investigation.

In fact it cannot conduct a criminal investigation – the matter has already been referred to…but WTF..case closed as far as I’m concerned until there is some substantiative evidence of criminal actvity – to date there is none. I’ll await the next exciting episode.

The Thomson argument is just going around and around in circles. I agree, it was supposed to be a gotcha moment by Abbott which was supposed to bring the government down. It didn’t happen and it isn’t going to happen.

It’s been stated over and over that even if criminal charges are laid, it will be too little and too late for Abbott. Why the urgency Abbott? Is there something that you’re worried about?

In a letter to Fair Work Australia, the committee noted that the tribunal had forwarded a copy of its investigation report to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to consider criminal charges.

‘On behalf of the committee I am writing to request that you provide the report to the committee secretariat as soon as it is possible to do so,’ Senator Marshall wrote in the letter.

‘In the event that you do not intend to provide the report, because you do not believe it is in the public interest to do so, as is usual in such circumstances I would ask that you provide the committee with the reasons provision of the report would be contrary to the public interest.’

FWA allowed a previous report into the HSU’s Victoria No 1 branch to be tabled and publicly released.

But it has legal advice that the HSU national office investigation report should not be published.

Hey Min, that delicious pic of the PM just won’t come up on the Belfast Telegraph, nor with the tag World_News_9-1_jpg_621775t. What was the story line and how recent was it? We really should find a way to use that and circulate it as much as possible. No wonder the Opposition are determed to get rid of her – brains and beauty!

Plus they’re gone on, and on, and on about it. As has been related here, first there was the NSW police investigation which revealed nothing, then it was the Victorian police.

Still they’ve come up with nothing. Who knows, they might come up with something but in the meantime isn’t there something worthwhile to do, you know the homeless, the underemployed, something of real value.

The economic slowdown in Europe is having a dramatic effect on priorities, as Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, observes:

“In the past, Poland’s intractable hostility to green unilateralism was greeted by protestation in capitals around Europe. Today it is hardly noticed by the media, while green campaigners have become limp . . . Other and more pressing concerns are taking precedence and are completely overriding the green agenda.”

The wait has been absolutely horrendous. It’s been really traumatic. The statements with the police have been finalised in 2010,” she said.

“We’ve been told the case is on the DPP’s desk, but it’s been on the DPP’s desk for seven months. Now they keep telling us they’re just waiting for a signature, so it’s beyond me how it’s been so long.

“The case has been investigated. It’s very clear the evidence is there from all the witnesses, so I don’t understand why he hasn’t been charged.”

Father Egan has always denied the allegations, and as the case dragged on questions were raised elsewhere in the media about the alleged sex offender’s long-time association with Attorney-General Greg Smith.

Mr Smith and Father Egan go back some years, and when Mr Smith was elected to Parliament five years ago he cited Father Egan’s influence in his maiden speech to Parliament.

“At St Gerard’s, Father Finian Egan charmed us with his Irish wit and his pastoral devotion to his flock,” he said in the speech.

Damien Tudehope, now the Attorney-General’s chief of staff, also knows Father Egan well, attending the priest’s church and, as a solicitor, defending him against sexual abuse allegations.

The ABC does not suggest that either Mr Smith or Mr Tudehope have interfered with the potential prosecution involving Father Egan, but critics argue there is an appearance of a potential conflict which the A-G should address.

‘Completely horrified’
But 7:30 can reveal discussions it is alleged the Attorney-General has had regarding the Egan matter which cast doubt over his impartiality.

Last year Ms Wells spoke to another Catholic priest about her frustration at the delay.

That priest, who the ABC has agreed not to name, says he then met Mr Smith last July.

After that meeting the priest detailed his version of what was said in an email to Ms Wells which the ABC has obtained.

In the email the priest says Mr Smith told him he thought Ms Wells was trying to take money from the church.

“I was with Greg Smith the other day and I raised your case with him. He commented that ‘you were just trying to get $1m from the church’,” the priest said in the email.

Ms Wells says the conversation was completely inappropriate.

“I was completely horrified that the chief lawmaker in the state could comment on an open criminal case for a start,” she said.

“Secondly, that he’d pass judgment on someone he doesn’t even know and just disbelief that the whole matter that our Attorney-General could speak so publicly about me and my case and a criminal matter

not in the courier mail, this story from a regional paper, because it is only about Cairns Base hospital, so who cares.

“QUEENSLAND’S new State Health Minister Lawrence Springborg is backing away from the LNP’s pre-election promise to make Cairns Base Hospital a Tier 1 funded facility.

The former Nationals leader, who was sworn into his new role yesterday, last night told The Cairns Post he needed to make sure an upgrade to Tier 1 status will “enhance the health service in the region”.

Sue, did you find that 7.30 report on the Church and the NSW Attorney General deliberately misleading as if to suggest it was not a state, but a federal matter? Uhlmann’s reference to ‘the highest legal authority in the land’ and no mention at all of NSW except by the interviewee who made reference to the ‘the state’ quite often.

Sue @9.12pm, isn’t Sneerleader jumping the gun a bit? Whether he says “I think” or not, he’s stating as a fact that Thomson misused the credit card, when Thomson hasn’t been charged with any crime.

Just because Sneerleader wants it to be so, doesn’t mean it IS so. I hope that Thomson is found not to have a case to answer and sues the arse off Sneerleader. Let’s hope Mrs Thomson is making notes; she seems like a pretty organised efficient type.

i was a bit surprised by abbott’s statements today, so surprised i thought i better check the online papers. none of them had the direct quotes, (which makes you wonder) but then i found abbott’s own web page with the door stop interview.

it must be really blowing abbott’s mind, with thompson as cool and calm with all the press.

Pip
my favorite at that time was the former Nats leader, who sold his AWB shares before the sh1t got out, and then decided to retire for the sake of the family. and the missus did quite nicely with her share offloading as well.

insider trading must only matter for inside board rooms as opposed to inside cabinets.

Sue @10.55pm, Sneerleader must be at breaking point. I feel certain he thinks he’s got Thomson, but there must be that little niggle with Thomson so cool, calm and collected in the face of all the frenzy.

If Thomson comes out smelling like a rose, there will be an unhinging the like of which we have never seen.

Anyone who has ever visited Africa and witnessed the continent’s still grinding poverty and its poor access to electricity will be delighted by recent news that work should begin later this year on a 300-MW wind farm in Kenya

Officials with the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) said 365 wind turbines would eventually be erected in an arid region in the east African nation, which has a population of about 43 million people.

The €582 million project, which will become the largest wind farm on the African continent, has been in development for seven years, officials noted.

Windfarm given go ahead despite local opposition, and should produce enough energy to power 175,000 homes.

A major windfarm on Shetland, which could be the most productive in the world, has been approved by ministers despite a bitterly fought campaign against the scheme by local residents.

The Viking windfarm will straddle the hills and moors of Shetland’s main island, where the onshore wind speeds are frequently the highest in Europe, and lead to earnings of £30m a year for islanders and Shetland’s wealthy charitable trust.

Maryland has the opportunity this week to go where no state has gone before. Not exactly deep space, but a big leap into uncharted territory nevertheless. The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2012, spearheaded by Gov. Martin O’ Malley, places a good bet on offshore wind by incentivizing the development of what could be the nation’s first offshore wind farm—providing stable, renewable wind power to the state’s residents and positioning Maryland to become a leader in the manufacturing and development sectors for decades to come. The measure passed the state House of Delegates last week and moves to the Senate for this, the final week of Maryland’s 2012 legislative session.

If criminal charges do emerge, given the glacial pace of the legal system, it is unlikely there would be an outcome before the federal election is due by the spring of next year.

In its bones, the Opposition knows this, so its tactic is to try and muster moral outrage over the concept of Julia Gillard’s government depending on an MP who is under investigation by the DPP.

It hopes to create enough pressure that four independent MPs support it in moving a no-confidence motion against the government, which would end its tenure.

The shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, has demanded Thomson should at least move to the cross benches.

Apart from the fact Thomson must be presumed innocent until proved otherwise, the biggest impediment to the Coalition argument is the fact Tony Abbott stood by and accepted the vote last year of his own Senator, Mary Jo Fisher, after she had been actually charged with theft and assault.

The alleged offences are not the same but the principle is.

.

*******This can’t be right!!

MP may be spared, but heat on union
Phillip Coorey, Kate McClymont
April 5, 2012.

THE likelihood of criminal charges against Craig Thomson following the Fair Work Australia investigation has lessened but other officials with his old union are under pressure with the impending release of an internal audit that insiders say will be explosive.

******The Australian tries to explain why this can’t be right with a large amount of cherry-picking!!

Meanwhile, pressure on union president Michael Williamson – who is understood to be among those named in the Fair Work report – continued to mount ahead of the release of findings by the HSU’s internal audit. Sources predicted attempted moves against Mr Williamson from within the union.

After revelations reported in The Age last year, Mr Williamson stood aside on full pay, while the HSU appointed Ian Temby, QC, to review the union’s tender, recruitment and expenditure processes and the use of corporate credit cards within HSU East, which covers NSW and Victoria.

It is understood Mr Temby has examined a company associated with Mr Williamson’s family, which has received more than $400,000 from the HSU for ”secretarial services”.

Mr Williamson is also alleged to have failed to disclose that his son pays about $70 a week rent to use an HSU building bought in 2006 for almost $800,000. The union then spent $500,000 on renovations including putting in a recording studio that is rented out by Mr Williamson’s son.

The Age has previously revealed that Mr Williamson’s company, United Edge, received about $1 million a year to provide IT services to the union.

A source has told The Age that discussions have been held among senior officials in the union about taking legal action to try to prevent Mr Temby from releasing his findings. Mr Temby was expected to present his report to the HSU council, which meets on April 30, but its release date is now uncertain.

The union is set today to be suspended from the ACTU, as the union movement distances itself from the allegations swirling around Mr Thomson.

Maybe Abbott, Brandis and the media, blinded by the ‘swirls’ they stirred up themselves, have been looking in the wrong direction!

Tom, it’s difficult to know at the moment. The NSW police found insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution to proceed, and from the brief mention of the Vic police, it seems that this was also their conclusion. This leaves the Feds.

I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action.

“Fair Work Australia says it found 181 contraventions which occurred during the period Thomson was at the helm of the Health Services Union, before his move to Federal Parliament.

Of these, 76 were minor administrative breaches which do not warrant further action or penalty. The other 105, says FWA, are breaches of the Workplace Relations Act which it will refer to the Federal Court for civil action. The maximum penalty for each is a fine.”

Sue…and as we wave a fond farewell to Tony Abbott’s dream of an early election, because after all this is the “why” for the prominence of this issue..because a fine is not sufficient for Thomson to have to quit.

One would not know this if one listened to Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis.

Mr. Brandis interview last night was beyond belief.

Mr, Brandis gave the impression that FWA has a mandate to investigate criminal matters. This as he well knows is false.

Mr. Brandis refuse to acknowledge the advice of the solictor general, demanding their advice be used.

Mr. Brandis claimed that referring the matter to the DPP was going nowhere. This is another false statement. The DPP has said they would look at the report.

FWA cannot prepare a brief on evidence, as it’s investigation has not been of a criminal nature.

This was all that was asked of FWA. FWA is not set up to make decisions on criminal matters.

Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis are both talking as if Mr. Thompson has been charged and convicted. This is not true.

Mr. Brandis talks and congratulates Ms. Jackson as an heroine in this matter. The fact is that Ms. Jackson is in the same position as Mr. Thompson.

Does Mr. Brandis have inside information of what is in the FWA report. He seems to have knowledge that no one else has. One cannot rely on the word of Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson does not have an history of honesty.

Mr. Brandis still does not recognised the independence of the FWA. One wonders how they would interfere if in office.

Is the Opposition paranoid as they appear to believe that many bodies and government departments are out to get them.

FWA has asked the DPP for their view on the matter. The only problem I can see, as far as the Opposition is concerned, is that FWA refused their advise and do as they demand.

There is still a presumption of innocence and due process is being followed. Maybe not quick enough to get Mr. Abbott into power, bur due process regardless.

From a political perspective, all that matters in the Craig Thomson saga is whether the MP is eligible to remain in Parliament.
If Labor had a 10-seat majority, the Coalition would not be showing much interest at all in the case.

and

But Labor has a one-seat margin and if Thomson were drummed out, then the government would most likely fall as it could not, in the current climate, conceivably hold his Central Coast seat of Dobell in a by-election.
But to be drummed out, an MP must be convicted of an indictable offence that carries a penalty of a year or more in jail.
As of now, Thomson has not even been charged with anything. He has not even been officially accused of a criminal offence.

As I said, due process continues. Maybe it would have been speedier if the Opposition had not put political pressure on FWA,

In my opinion, the Opposition are after the PM and FWA. They are using Mr. Thompson as the tool to reach their aims.

The reaction of the ACTU indicated that this is about much more than Mr. Thompson.

The Opposition is not interested in this development.

Is a corrupt previous leader more important than a possible corrupt union that exists today.

The ACTU proposed action is unheard of before today.

What the DPP is saying, is that they have not been asked to take action on the report but to give an opinion. I believe they are being asked if there is any evidence to take the matter further. If the answer is yes, I would imagine it would be referred to the relevant police department.

After the Opposition past relationship with the NSW and Victoria police forces, I would not blame them for covering their backsides on this matter.

FWA says it is not qualified to judge whether any of these breaches may also constitute criminal activity so it has sent the whole report to the DPP, rather than the police, to make that determination.
For Labor – and Thomson – the best result yesterday would have been for FWA to make its findings and, as it did when it handed down a report into the HSU’s Victorian East branch a month ago, decide none of the breaches warranted referral to the DPP.
Notwithstanding the two ongoing police investigations in NSW and Victoria, this would have resolved the matter, insofar as it would have eliminated the prospect of criminal charges against Thomson emanating from the Fair Work Australia process.
However, referral to the DPP keeps the issue alive as a distraction and an embarrassment for federal Labor and keeps alive the prospect that criminal charges may result.
Thus, the nightmare continues.
If criminal charges do emerge, given the glacial pace of the legal system, it is unlikely there would be an outcome before the federal election is due by the spring of next year.
In its bones, the Opposition knows this, so its tactic is to try and muster moral outrage over the concept of Julia Gillard’s government depending on an MP who is under investigation by the DPP.
It hopes to create enough pressure that four independent MPs support it in moving a no-confidence motion against the government, which would end its tenure.
The shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, has demanded Thomson should at least move to the cross benches.
Apart from the fact Thomson must be presumed innocent until proved otherwise, the biggest impediment to the Coalition argument is the fact Tony Abbott stood by and accepted the vote last year of his own Senator, Mary Jo Fisher, after she had been actually charged with theft and assault.
The alleged offences are not the same but the principle is.

THE likelihood of criminal charges against Craig Thomson following the Fair Work Australia investigation has lessened but other officials with his old union are under pressure with the impending release of an internal audit that insiders say will be explosive.
The ACTU national executive is today expected to suspend the Health Services Union in an explicit signal to HSU officials that its national president, Michael Williamson, should be drummed out, along with anyone else who may be implicated in the audit.

and

It is understood that Mr Temby’s investigations have uncovered, among many things, a company associated with Mr Williamson’s family that has received more than $400,000 from the HSU for ”secretarial services”.
The Herald revealed previously Mr Williamson’s company United Edge received an estimated $1 million a year for providing IT services to the union.
Mr Thomson is not believed to be in the firing line of Mr Temby’s findings.
However, Kathy Jackson, the HSU’s national secretary who blew the whistle on Mr Thomson’s alleged misuse of a union credit card when he led the union, found herself fending off allegations yesterday.
A Victorian branch of the union that she led before succeeding Mr Thomson as national secretary referred to the Victoria Police and Mr Temby allegations of financial irregularities during Ms Jackson’s tenure.
A letter, obtained by the Herald, mentions the purchase of a Volvo, childcare fees, a computer, iPod, consultancy fees and a $58,000 ”loan” to Ms Jackson’s now ex-husband, Jeff Jackson. Ms Jackson denied engaging in ”any fraud or wrongdoing”, saying the expenses were legitimate and that she was being fitted up as payback for blowing the whistle on Mr Thomson.
She produced a letter from the Victorian police saying they were not investigating.
As Julia Gillard stood by Mr Thomson, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions indicated it was unlikely to take criminal action after having referred to it the findings of the three-year Fair Work Australia investigation into the HSU when Mr Thomson was at the helm.
The investigation found 105 breaches of workplace law and 76 technical infringements that are just civil breaches.
It referred the report to the DPP to see if criminal charges were warranted but the DPP said yesterday ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence” and it did not have investigative powers. It will look at the 1100-page report but criminal charges are unlikely, providing some relief to Mr Thomson and the Gillard government.
The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, again demanded FWA release the report and furnish the DPP with a brief of evidence.

Mr Thomson is not believed to be in the firing line of Mr Temby’s findings.
However, Kathy Jackson, the HSU’s national secretary who blew the whistle on Mr Thomson’s alleged misuse of a union credit card when he led the union, found herself fending off allegations yesterday.
A Victorian branch of the union that she led before succeeding Mr Thomson as national secretary referred to the Victoria Police and Mr Temby allegations of financial irregularities during Ms Jackson’s tenure.
A letter, obtained by the Herald, mentions the purchase of a Volvo, childcare fees, a computer, iPod, consultancy fees and a $58,000 ”loan” to Ms Jackson’s now ex-husband, Jeff Jackson. Ms Jackson denied engaging in ”any fraud or wrongdoing”, saying the expenses were legitimate and that she was being fitted up as payback for blowing the whistle on Mr Thomson.
She produced a letter from the Victorian police saying they were not investigating.
As Julia Gillard stood by Mr Thomson, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions indicated it was unlikely to take criminal action after having referred to it the findings of the three-year Fair Work Australia investigation into the HSU when Mr Thomson was at the helm.

“I am not conversant with FWA procedures but the media say that they haven’t prepared a brief with a view to criminal proceedings – but is that their job anyway? It would therefore be up to the Feds to plough through the FWA report and then to decide whether there is sufficient evidence for possible criminal action”

Min, it is my understanding it is not their job. They are only involved in civil matters. It is their job I believe to pass on any investigation for criminal matters to other bodies.

I believe that the DPP is being asked for advice. It is likely that the matter will end up with the Federal police. If this is the case, surely the right decision is not to publish the report until all legal processes have been exhausted.

It is about many more than Mr. Thompson. He is a minor player in this scenario.

It must also question the value of much of the alleged evidence against Mr. Thompson, if the union is completely dysfunctional.

Cu, in legal-ese it means the same thing. Insufficient evidence can also mean that what evidence exists is would be insufficient to obtain a conviction. For example evidence obtained via questionable methods – evidence which might not pass court standards.

Joe Blobs goes away on holidays and gives his front door key to his neighbor Fred Nerks. While away Joe’s house is broken into. The police can find no signs of forced entry and so Fred is the prime suspect. An investigation finds no stolen items in Fred’s house, and even though another neighbor Harry Smit swears that he saw Fred lurking around the premises on the night in question, it is insufficient for the police to be able to press charges against Fred.

Fred is probably as guilty as sin, however the evidence is insufficient or questionable given that the Harry is on with Fred’s missus.

It appears that the fishing expedition has not landed much, except for the huge catch of landing the union itself.

This is a justice. Mr. Abbott stands accuse of attempting to manipulate the justice system for political gains. He should be condemned for this.

Every official organisation called on to find that telltale evidence – NSW police, Fair Work Australia – has passed on the opportunity. The latest to do so was the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions who yesterday effectively said: Not my job.

It could be the evidence doesn’t exist, that whatever Mr Thomson did wasn’t criminal. It might be that his actions as union secretary were reprehensible, but not illegal.

If proof of criminal wrong-doing is there it will take another police investigation or a judicial inquiry followed by court cases for guilt to be established.

Meanwhile, the Fair Work Australia dossier should lead to Federal Court proceedings on administrative breaches by HSU leaders – civil charges – and the public interest in Craig Thomson might taper off as that rambles on.

Before the DPP yesterday declined to join the Craig Thomson hunt there was a significant debate over whether the fair Work Australia report could or should be made public.

Campaigners against Mr Thomson didn’t pull back and risked setting an unhappy precedent for judging politicians guilty of crimes before they are even in front of a judge.

There was a concerted effort by senior Liberals led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to have the FWA report made public before the DPP was finished with it – which came sooner than most expected. A string of past inquiries into unrelated matters were offered as precedents for the document’s release.

They included findings of the royal commission into the $5.3 billion collapse of HIH in 2003; the 1989 report of the Fitzgerald inquiry in Queensland; a 2007 report suggesting charges against Brian Burke; and two reports by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

But one inquiry was glaringly absent. That is the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (2001-2003) under Terence Cole, set up following an Employment Advocate report ordered by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott.

In March 2003 there was debate over making public the royal commission’s recommendations for criminal prosecutions.

Tony Abbott forcefully insisted the recommendations be kept secret.

“If we were to publicly table a document which names people and recommends various prosecution actions, then we would obviously be creating a media firestorm,” Mr Abbott said at the time.

“When Israel is fighting for its very life, well, as far as I’m concerned, Australians are Israelis. We are all Israelis in those circumstances.”

I had a reasonable amount to do with the Australian Jewish community, Isi Liebler having been my boss. That goes back a couple of decades and there was strong feeling then, not anti-Muslim but of an Israeli nationalistic flavour. Does that feeling still exist in young Australian Jewish people today..only minimally I would say.

I would add, who is fighting for it’s existence today, the nation of Israel or the Palestinian people?

Nas’, I certainly remember that.. it used to be every young Jewish person’s duty to spend at least a year on the kibbutz, but given that it was all to do with free love and beautiful girls and tanned young fellas..it wasn’t too onerous a task..probably a bit the same as a gap year only with more outdoors and more vino.

The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.

Newman cutting the literacy awards is more than just political pettiness…and cost saving.

It is part of a long-term strategy to silence dissenting and alternative voices…to ensure that ex-military man Newman and his ally Abbott can pursue a hard-right, pro-war, pro-nuclear, religion over secularism, mining over the environment, fishing & cattle uber alles agenda.

Min wrote:
The sympathy for the Israelis came from the fact that they were refugees, stateless and were deserving of a place to call their own. You turn from love to war and eventually destiny will teach you a lesson.

Indeed Min.

When you act like those who persecuted you…become addicted to the same ruthless, heartless, callous, insane approach…you lose not only the respect of others…but yourself.

Nas’, that’s a reminder for how long it took for Australia to become other than a cultural backwater. Kowtowing to the Brits and later to the Americans, and the assumption that anything resembling Australian culture must by definition be inferior.

History comes in cycles and I can see us heading down this path again – the almost total lack of Australian culture in the media is an indication of the backward path we are taking.

Pip, @12.53am, good news for Africa. This is huge. It will provide so much opportunity for Africans. Let’s hope it’s a roaring success.

Interestingly, it is also good news for Australia in that more countries are taking up alternative energy sources.

I wonder if Premier Palmer will be inclined to rethink Alternative Energy for Queensland. Or will he be content to let the state slide back 30 or so years?

Ditto Bailleau and Barnett.

And with the news coming thick and fast from the US and now the Shetlands, we absolutely must press on with the renewable energy program under this forward thinking government.

Slogan-Forward to the Future with Labor or Back to the Dark Ages with the LNP?

And nice of Philip Coorey to point out the hypocrisy. About f*cken time!!! As I see it, the only bypassing happening is the truth by the Liars party and their chief barrackers in the Merdeochracy.

el gordo @8.18am, puhlease! Now pull the other one; it plays Jingle Bells.

………why is the heat off..don’t tell me it’s because of our old friend..insufficient evidence!

Which of course is insufficient evidence for the Liars Party to come to the amazing conclusion that insufficient evidence means that there is insufficient evidence. I refer my learned colleagues to Lionel Murphy, if there is any doubt about my conclusion.

However, this time I think the government should remove the gloves and deliver the old one, two consisting of Fisher, Michael Williamson and their whistleblower the sainted Kathy Jackson, who could be up to her scrawny neck in poo by the looks of things.

This shit storm looks more interesting by the second.

CU & Bacchus, questionable evidence, particularly as it has been driven by one Kathy Jackson who has a big grudge against Thomson and who now appears to be less than the brave whistle blower the Liars Party would have us believe.

I have a suspicion that Thomson was dropped in it to cover a certain person’s arse. He may have been getting too close for comfort, if, as he says, he was trying to clean up the union.

CU @10.31am, it’s encouraging to see that Liealot is living down to his usual “standards”. I hope someone decides to drag the bugger through the courts.

CU,
these people do not really believe in freedom of speech…they are a CON…

libertarians are stupid to fall for their bullsh*t

Every one is expendable when it comes to their loopy religious & resource wars.

Civil rights are thrown out the window when it suits them.

Ask this lady how her freedom of speech rights were respected:

Cornelia Rau is a German citizen and Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Government’s mandatory detention program.

Vivian Alvarez Solon (born 30 October 1962) is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) in July 2001. In May 2005, it became public knowledge that she had been deported, although DIMIA knew of its mistake in 2003. Solon’s family had listed her as a missing person since July 2003, and until May 2005, did not know that she had been deported. The circumstances surrounding Solon’s unlawful deportation have caused much controversy in the Australian media.

In October 2005, a report on Solon’s deportation was released, following an inquiry conducted by former Victoria Police commissioner Neil Comrie.

The report revealed that several senior DIMIA officials in Canberra knew about Solon’s unlawful deportation in 2003 and 2004, and failed to act. It also found that Solon’s mental and physical health problems were not given proper attention.

The Liars have banked on people either forgetting or being indifferent to, their utter disregard for the rights of fellow Australians, and in the case of Dr Haneef, of foreign nationals working in this country.

We should also remember their disgraceful conduct in the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

The Liars Party has covered itself in inglory time after time. We should always hold them to account over these things.

Another loss for Palmer. He shares something with Mr. Aboot. If he cannot have his own way, he will destroy it.

Football Federation Australia officially axed Gold Coast United on Thursday, confirming the city would not be represented in the A-League next season.

The decision comes a day after FFA announced it would bankroll a new western Sydney franchise from next season.

FFA blamed a lack of public and corporate support in the city for the decision, as well as a shortage of new investors with ‘a viable business plan and adequate capital investment.’

And it said the failure of the franchise could be directly attributed to the Clive Palmer-owned club’s ‘lack of community engagement and its inability to build a football culture around the club.’

‘FFA is bitterly disappointed that Gold Coast United Pty Ltd failed to develop a market for football on the Gold Coast over the past three seasons,’ FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said in a statement.

‘… We acknowledge the hard work and commitment over the past six weeks by Football Queensland, Gold Coast Football Association, the Gold Coast players and coach Mike Mulvey.

‘The team showed great professionalism and pride in performance in the way they completed the season.

Another point missed by Abbott is that Craig Thomson has not heard from the Victorian Police, which is strange if one believes that he is guilty of a ‘crime’.
Their investigation is still ongoing and one would expect that Mr. Thomson would have been questioned before now as a matter of some urgency!

Pip, I should imagine that it’s all in the 1,100 page report. From the snippets, and these are very few and far between it seems that the Victorian police’s conclusion is the same as that of the NSW police.

If we’re all not completely confused by this..who would blame us!

I dare say that it will take the DPP considerable time to plough their way though the FWA report.

TONY Abbott says Fair Work Australia’s failure to provide prosecutors with a brief of evidence on the Health Services Union may be part of a deliberate “obstruction of justice” orchestrated by allies of the Gillard government.

The Opposition Leader said that if after waiting over three years for the workplace watchdog to complete its investigation into the HSU and Labor MP Craig Thomson’s alleged misuse of union credit cards and funds, no charges were pursued, it would send an “appalling message” to the Australian people.

“I think the public are concluding that basically a protection racket has been at work here inside officialdom to look after Craig Thomson and the Gillard government,” Mr Abbott told Sydney’s 2GB.

More on ACTU. I believe that Mr. Abbott is becoming completely unhinged. Not one word about the action of the ACTU.

He is obsessed with Mr. Thompson. He does not realise that another door has closed.

I do not think there are any others for him to go through.

He will just have to wait for the schedule election 18 months away.

The PM is not as easy to take down, as he believed.

Today, delegates voted 1797 to 103 in favour of the suspension.

Victoria Police is still investigating activities at the HSU during Labor MP Craig Thomson’s tenure as national secretary, and may still refer evidence to the state’s DPP.

The case was referred to police in September, but Mr Thomson’s office says he has not been approached by police.

“It has really got nothing to do with me,” Mr Thomson said.

“I haven’t been a member, employed by the HSU for five years, so clearly it is about current issues that are there and that is a matter for the ACTU and the HSU to sort through.”

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says if the investigation into the HSU and Mr Thomson fails, then it will be due to deliberate obstruction.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will not comment on the process because it is being run by independent agencies.

But Mr Abbott has told Macquarie Radio says the public is beginning to suspect that officials are protecting Mr Thomson and the Government.

“You’ve got union officials investigating union officials, and the suspicion has got to be that you’ve had former union officials protecting union officials to protect the Gillard Government,” he said.

It is a deeply unflattering photograph. On anyone else’s website, you’d suspect it had been chosen with extreme malice aforethought to portray the lawyer as some harrumphing grump.

In a sense that’s exactly how it happened: Faris’ son took the picture. “Give us your trademark scowl,” he directed and his father happily complied and then posted it on his blog.

Which might say as much about Peter Faris QC as any of the provocations he types into that weblog. After more than 40 years as one of Melbourne’s most successfully combative criminal lawyers, Faris, 66, has made a new name for himself — with business cards to match — as 3AW broadcaster and multi-media commentator. And career controversialist.

On the station’s Sunday morning discussion program, in his Faris QC Blog (subheaded “Australia, Love It Or Leave It”), and in contributions to Crikey.com and newspaper opinion pages, he assails a variety of targets. He wants racial profiling of Muslim airline passengers, suggests Joseph “Jihad Jack” Thomas be handed over to Pakistan to face terror charges, and argues that torture is acceptable under certain circumstances.

Pip, that again would be Ms. Jackson. Talk about denial. It could be that he is talking about her partner. Now that would be news, when one looks at who the partner is.

It does not make sense in what Mr. Abbott said. If it was all about Thompson, I do not believe FWA would be taking the steps they have. As much as Mr. Abbott would like to make it a crime of the highest order, $100,000 is not that great in the scheme of things.

Would one expect the ACTU to take action over such am alleged crime. Me thinks not. It would have to be at least systematic corruption. Current corruption at that. Maybe Mr. Abbott should listen to what Mr. Thompson is saying.

Mr. Abbott is now trying to convince the public that he would have to resign if the accusations were made public. Sorry, he does not and Mr. Abbott knows this.

What makes it more stupid, the public is also aware of that fact.

I do hope some of the eggs that are aimed at his face, are rotten. he is digging that hole deeper for himself.

Andrew’s main interests lie in employment law and workplace relations, contract law and intellectual property. His most recent publications include Parental Leave: A User-Friendly Guide (with Erin McCarthy and Elise Jenkin) and an edited collection of articles for the Journal of Industrial Relations on the new agency Fair Work Australia. He has also complted new editions of his popular texts, Labour Law (with Breen Creighton), Intellectual Property in Australia (with Philip Griffith and Judith Bannister) and Stewart’s Guide to Employment Law.

Besides working as a consultant with the national law firm Piper Alderman, Andrew has provided expert advice to the International Labour Organisation, to Federal and State governments in Australia, to the Auditor-General of South Australia and to a wide range of other organisations. He has played a prominent role in the public debate over workplace reforms, and has spoken and written widely about their implications for businesses, workers and unions.

Andrew is the President of the Australian Labour Law Association, Deputy Dean at Adelaide Law School, and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He has previously been Chair of the Committee of Australian Law Deans and President of the Industrial Relations Society of South Australia. Before taking up his current post he worked at the University of Sydney and at Flinders University, where he was Dean of Law from 1994-1997.

Faris tells how barrister and human rights advocate Julian Burnside QC looked at him at a dinner recently and said “I think you are the most dangerous person in Australia”. He barks out a husky laugh: “And he meant it!”

This is the side of Peter Faris that unlovely photo seems to illustrate. The topics and language he chooses seem calculated incitements, intended to further exsanguinate already bleeding hearts. There’s a suspicion of shock-theatre about his pronouncements, as if they’re verbal versions of that “trademark scowl”, until you wonder if he’s reactionary or just looking for a reaction.

“He certainly thrives on the notoriety, the recognition,” says a fellow barrister. “He revels in that — and he’s got an adoring fan base of rednecks and vigilantes.”

But Faris insists he says what he means and means what he says: “All I’m being is me, all I’m saying is what I think. What I say, even though it sounds confrontationist, is something I believe, that I’ve thought deeply about. I don’t just say those things for sensational effect.”

Yet, next breath, he adds that part of his job each Sunday is to do the program’s first editorial. “And it’s talkback radio, I’ve got to light up the switchboard. It’s my job to get them on the line and you don’t do that by pussyfooting around … You’ve got to work out what you think and say it in such a way that half the people are going to agree and the other half hate it.

It is getting ridiculous. According to Mr. Abbott and his supporters, he decides who is allow in parliament. The PM has no right to put forward legislation he disagrees with.

Mr Abbott said it was clear corruption had occurred.

“”This is the term that the ACTU itself has used in suspending the membership of the HSU – corruption,” he said.”

yes it has indeed. What is not clear, more than that, not known, by whom and when.

“Mr Abbott called on the FWA to “redeem itself” by preparing a brief of evidence the Director or Public Prosecutions could use.

“If Fair Work Australia is unwilling or incapable of doing this the state police would be justified in seeking the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has … to prepare their own briefs of evidence”.

The arrogance of the man. Maybe he should redeem himself for the lies he continues to spread.

“A very, very serious term.”

Very serious indeed, Serious enough to be treat with respect, not twisted to meet his political aims.

Where does it go from here. They say there are criminal matters. The police have not found any in what has been referred to the,

My guess is there maybe criminal matters but no proof. Further it might be difficult to decide who have committed any criminal offences.

One thing for sure, it is not an open and shut case, as thre Opposition alludes.

What is being overlooked amid all the huff and puff of the Craig Thomson saga is that the investigation by Fair Work Australia was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges.
When the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday the 1100-page report referred to it by Fair Work Australia did not amount to a brief of evidence and therefore, it was unlikely the DPP would do much about it, it was hardly a surprise.
Fair Work Australia was only ever tasked to investigate whether the Health Services Union, during the time Thomson was the national secretary and before he was a politician, breached the Workplace Relations Act.
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The investigation identified 76 technical breaches which are minor and do not warrant penalty and another 105 breaches which possibly warrant referral to the federal court and the imposition of fines.
Fair Work Australia’s general manager Bernadette O’Neill said this week when the report was finalised that it was not within the bailiwick of her organisation to establish whether its findings were of a criminal nature.
That, she said, was for the DPP to determine.
However, she implied there was material that was possibly of a criminal nature.
”I am satisfied that the report raises many significant matters which may be appropriate for the DPP’s consideration,” she said.
But the DPP is not an investigative body so the report with which it has been furnished, is next to useless. It will go through the motions of looking at it but not much more presumably.
If the DPP were to recommend criminal charges, it would be on the back of a brief by the police.
At the behest of the shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, the NSW police looked at the case last year and decided no investigation was warranted.
Following subsequent revelations by the Sydney Morning Herald of more serious allegations against the union administration more broadly, rather than Thomson per se, both the NSW and Victorian police are having another look. Those investigations are still ongoing.
There is plenty that can be criticised about the Fair Work Australia investigation.
Primarily, it took too long, lasting more than three years.
Now that the DPP is unlikely to act on its findings, there is no good reason why its report cannot be released.
Afterall, it released a report a couple of weeks ago into the administration of a Victorian branch of the HSU that had nothing to do with Thomson but identified various breaches of the Act.
Fair Work Australia has also refused along the way to co-operate with any police investigation and is therefore unlikely to refer its report to the police. It went to the length of securing advice from the Australian Government Solicitor as to why it was more appropriate the report went to the DPP.

b. assume that he is being true to form, saying whatever wants to say with the intention of his repeated mantras hogging and clogging the public conversation, knowing full well that he’s being untruthful and misleading the public.

c. He’ll continue to blather and lie till someone smarter and more powerful
. explains to him that he is wrong in what he’s been saying,not that he
would worry too much after the easy ride he was given over the
Mary Jo Fisher shoplifting case.

Peter Faris is just another bitter, disallusioned, angry jerk who is probably terrified of death…yet afraid to live…without spreading his guilt, fear, doubts and anxiety everywhere by way of opinionated vomit…and stirring people up.

Spreading the cynicism and anger…trying to infect others…make them same…somehow eases the pain…

Temporarily.

These raging opinionators tend to be smug…arrogant…use reactions to their unpleasantness to fuel themselves.

Fear and guilt tend to drive them…that’s why they fingerpoint so much…in some ways they are like serial killers…they consider themselves sooo intelligent…but a part of them knows they are a sham…a show…sick in the head and heart…hoping oneday someone will see thru them…take them down…put them out of their long misery.

Yet another part of them is terrified of being caught.

Adrenalin comes from playing the game…seeing what they can get away with…how far they can go.

Eventually the crash will come…unfortunately they’ve left a string of casualties…

and as shock jocks…been paid well for it.

Imagine the guilt that lies beneath.

But once blood has been tasted…they believe it is too late to turn back. No path to redemption…

Apart from kowtowing to the religiously delusional.

Ya see, when some people lose what they perceive as their “goodness”…feel forced to compromise…give up on their principles, their long-held beliefs…are caught out and humiliated…perhaps don’t get the adoration and respect they feel they deserve…they can transform into cynical, angry tosspots…spewing venom at all and sundry…like children, adolescents…siding with others who support their rage and cynicism…those who applaud and kneel at their sick altar.

Expressions of self-hate and distrust of others and paranoid delusions and severe disappointment with life and fear can be terrible things to witness…particularly if they manifest in a highly articulate person who gets in front of a microphone…

think many shock jocks…including Limbaugh, Jones and Bolt.

The money is merely a bandaid…the applause and kowtowing agreement merely temporary motivators…hollow.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about studying law was that opinion unless backed up by facts is not worth a baker’s cuss.

You can drag out as much opinion as you like, but the facts do not change. Therefore all the rants and raves from opposition politicians might fill up some space but they will not influence the outcome.

And really should we want the outcome influenced by politicians and the media?

Fair Work Australia was only ever tasked to investigate whether the Health Services Union, during the time Thomson was the national secretary and before he was a politician, breached the Workplace Relations Act.

So, what’s happened? I’ve just come in and after reading all your comments and one at Poll Bludger saying that Channel 10 was promising an exclusive on HSU releasing that report to them I went straight to ABC News 24 and then 10 News – but nothing about HSU or Craig Thomson at all.

Has it dropped off the radar? Or am I living in a different universe over here in Freo?

Or has Tony Abbott been picked up and taken off into protective custody?

Tom, we could bash our brains out on this one trying to get these facts through.

To try to put it as simply as I can – one thing is a civil action, one thing is a criminal action.

On occasions these things overlap. Therefore for example if you threw rubbish on your neighbor’s naturestrip you might have a penalty courtesy of your local council, you might even have a civil action .. but is it a criminal action?

Fair Work Australia has agreed to release the report of its investigation into the Health Services Union’s national office.

But the report will not be tabled in the Senate until FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill has finished considering which of 181 contraventions of workplace laws found by investigators should be taken to the Federal Court for civil action.

The report has made findings against three former or serving HSU officials, and one other individual.

The World Today spoke to a former high ranking judicial officer with extensive experience in industrial law who preferred not to be named. He said Fair Work Australia should release that legal advice to establish the bona fides of its decision.

But Professor Andrew Stewart says the decision is unsurprising.

ANDREW STEWART: It’s not at all unusual for a report of this type to be kept private while an assessment is being made about whether criminal charges are possible. The police don’t routinely release reports from their internal investigations while a decision is still being made about whether or not a prosecution should be initiated.

TANYA NOLAN: And Professor Stewart says the example used by the Opposition of the Queensland Fitzgerald Inquiry as a precedent for doing so is not a fair comparison.

ANDREW STEWART: It’s not the same because this is a question of a process that it is operating under legislation that places clear limits on Fair Work Australia in terms of when it’s appropriate to disclose information.

I think there have been many, many other examples where you’ve had investigations where the details remained largely confidential until a decision has been made whether or not to pursue criminal processes.

ANDREW STEWART: It’s not at all unusual for a report of this type to be kept private while an assessment is being made about whether criminal charges are possible. The police don’t routinely release reports from their internal investigations while a decision is still being made about whether or not a prosecution should be initiated.

Basic common sense isn’t it. An investigation might include 200 persons, all but 2 of whom are innocent – therefore one does not release internal reports.

Ok, imagine if it was a rape case and there were 200 suspects who all attended the same dance party. Should the police release the names of all 200.

But the report will not be tabled in the Senate until FWA general manager Bernadette O’Neill has finished considering which of 181 contraventions of workplace laws found by investigators should be taken to the Federal Court for civil action.

Cu, it wasn’t in the interests of Mr. Abbott for anyone in the news industry to
voice their concerns if they differed from those of Mr. Abbott.
It may also not have been in the best interests of the journalists to differ from the ‘groupthink’.

Journalists have been known to argue strongly about that point but i don’t necessarily believe them.

TONY Abbott wants police armed with search warrants to raid Fair Work Australia if it won’t use its 1100-page report on the Health Services Union to launch criminal prosecutions.

The police would then be able to use the contents of the report for a brief of evidence leading to the laying of criminal charges.

The Opposition Leader said that “effectively” it was known the report contains “corruption charges” involving former HSU secretary and Labor MP Craig Thomson.

Mr Abbott based that on the ACTU’s decision today to suspend the membership Health Services Union as a statement of “zero tolerance for corruption”.

He said Fair Work Australia should now draw up a brief of evidence for the prosecution of Mr Thomson.

If it didn’t: “the state police would be justified in seeking the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has, and in using the evidence that Fair Work Australia clearly has to prepare their own briefs of evidence that can then go to the state directors of public prosecution”.

The suspension motion was passed overwhelmingly but there was sympathy for Health Service Union officials who had cleaned up their branches.

Acting national secretary Chris Brown gave what one union leader called an intelligent and strong defence of the well-managed branches, while another source said Ms Jackson – who had called in investigators into the union – had been “rambling”.

The decision was made after Fair Work Australia revealed it had uncovered 181 rule breaches related to the union’s finances and amid speculation that a separate inquiry had uncovered misuse of funds.

Mr Lawrence said investigations of HSU finances should be completed and the ACTU made no allegation of guilt by any individual.

Civil action is not criminal action although the two can often overlap. For example one’s pet spaniel nipping your boss on the leg and then piddling on the carpet may not warrant criminal action for illegal entry to his premises, but he might decide to sue for damages to the carpet and for medical expenses.

el grodo, Bob Carter is your scientisit of choice, but he doen’s impress everyone!
His funding comes from the “big polluters”, so one would nopt expect him to support an ETS, or renewable energy sources..

Background
Robert (Bob) Carter is research professor at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia, where he was head of the School of Earth Sciences between 1981 and 1999. He is a marine geologist and environmental scientist. [2]

In response to claims made by Carter that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change uncovered no evidence that global warming was caused by human activity, a former CSIRO climate scientist stated that Carter was not a credible source on climate change and that “if he [Carter] has any evidence that [global warming over the past 100 years] is a natural variability he should publish through the peer review process.”

Carter has written numerous newspaper articles, primarily for UK and Australian newspapers, that attempt to disprove global warming.

In reference to his involvement with the Institute for Public Affairs (IPA), Carter stated in a March 15, 2007 Sydney Morning Herald article: “I don’t think it is the point whether you are paid by the coal or petroleum industry.” [3]

As tomorrow is good friday, abbott can ask the nsw police to storm the offices of the nsw attorney general, and demand he sign the documents against the AG’s mate the priest. then the police can go to the priests home or even the church he is attending and arrest him. tony abbott can do this as there is apparently a brief of evidence against the priest. the brief of evidence has been sitting on the AG’s desk for a considerable length of time. as abbott is determined to stick up for poor unionists, who may have had their funds misused , imagine the outrage abbott must be feeling for catholics abused by a priest. go on abbott stand up for these catholics who are being doubly abused as a result of their case not proceeding.

an advisor on a number of “think-tanks” and groups. In addition to Heartland, Professor Carter is an advisor to the Institute for Public Affairs (Aus), The Galileo Movement (Aus), the Science and Public Policy Institute (US), the International Climate Science Coalition (US/Canada), the Australian Climate Science Coalition, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (UK) and Repeal the Act (UK). He was a founding advisor to the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.

All of these groups promote the same contrarian views on human-caused climate change that are not backed by any national science academy of note anywhere on the planet. Few, if any, reveal their funders.

“CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: It can only be described as a farce. An investigation that dragged on for three years, a secret report handed to the Commonwealth prosecutor that turns out to be useless for pursuing criminal action and state police investigations stymied by Fair Work Australia’s refusal to co-operate.”

FARCE , the FARCE IS 7.30 look who reporter Hayden Cooper interviewed as one of his experts, Stewart Wood
“Stewart Wood is a senior counsel whose advice was referred to this week in the Fair Work report. In the end, his opinion was ignored because he believes Fair Work Australia should have co-operated with police from the word go.”

WHAT Cooper did not disclose about Wood is that he is asssociated with the HR Nicholls society, is counsel to employers. and an advocate for Workchoices

“By his own admission ex Freehills lawyer Stuart Wood isn’t having much luck lately. Wood who offers legal advice to employers and claims to be “one of Australia’s leading workplace relations barristers” has been on the losing side of a number recent industrial disputes
Wood’s reveals the real intent of Workchoices is to bypass this democratic process and allow the employers to implement any change regardless of the social consequences.

i have not investigated Hayden Cooper’s other expert that was John Lloyd an ex vice president of the IRC, the body replaced by FWA. My guess he isn’t working with the new industrial body the FWA and may be he was a Howard appointtee.

He has confirmed today that there is corruption charges in relation to Mr. Thompson. How and where?

How and where indeed, CU. Has nobody asked him how he knows this, when it appears two police forces and other agencies have no such knowledge?

I think it’s about time he got a very sharp slap and the threat of legal action if he continues in this vein.

CU @3.47pm, Sneerleader has nothing but desperation and his usual accomplices lies, innuendo, unfounded allegations, dishonesty and misrepresentation. As a lawyer himself, he should know that he is on flimsy ground making all these statements publicly.

Pip @4.02pm, as I understand it, the majority of the “offences” occurred AFTER Thomson ceased working for the union. Bit hard for him to commit these “offences” if he was no longer involved with the union.

Mr. Abbott is now trying to convince the public that he would have to resign if the accusations were made public.

Oh, you mean like Mary Jo fisher’s resignation? Oh wait…

Pip @5.03pm, why would Sneerleader go to him for advice? He knows of what he speaks. Definitely NOT Sneerleader’s type of legal adviser.

What????? What has today’s decision by the ACTU’s got to do with someone who hasn’t worked at HSU for 5 years?

Corruption may well have occurred, but we don’t know when, nor who was corrupt.

Min @5.36pm, he might shut his big fat lying gob if someone finally decides to take legal action against him for what is essentially an egregious and irresponsible abuse of his position.

Of course, what’s worse is that once again he’s allowed to get away with the lies by the msm.

…..the prime minister should no longer rely on the vote of the Health Services Union member…..

Who might that be? Yet another flagrant lie.

Tom R, Their TER would barely qualify them for a course at the Weeties School of Journalism.

Frankly, I think now would be an appropriate time for the government to say it’s decided to reopen the inquiry into AWB, with broader TOR.

TONY Abbott wants police armed with search warrants to raid Fair Work Australia if it won’t use its 1100-page report on the Health Services Union to launch criminal prosecutions.

Well he’ll be f*cked if it doesn’t contain what he so desperately wants. He is really desperate. I wonder if his desperation is linked to goodies that will be contained in the Budget?

It’s only a month away and I’d wager the house that when voters start unwrapping their Budget presents, they won’t want to give them to Gina, Clive and Twiggy.

Also, the fact is that state Liars party governments are starting to hum a bit. Sneerleader can’t wait until August next year to confess that he’ll be handing over all the goodies to three if the richest people in the country. He NEEDS an election, now.

It could be making false accusations. it could be lying. Corruption is such a wide term.

“Papua New Guinea’s government has warned other countries, particularly Australia, not to interfere in its internal affairs after it delayed its elections.
The deferral is the second major backflip from the PNG government in two days.

Yesterday, the government used a controversial law to suspend two judges who were involved in a major constitutional case, despite previously saying it would not use the law until the public had been consulted.

Sue @10.00pm, you don’t understand, do you? It’s a completely different situation. I mean you only have to look, I mean one is a priest, so it’s totally different.

And the priest wasn’t in HSU and he isn’t a member of a minority government which needs his vote. So you can see it’s totally different, isn’t it? I mean it’s not corrupt to abuse boys, is it? Just a peccadillo, really and quite harmless.

The New South Wales Premier has jumped to the defence of his Attorney-General, Greg Smith, who has come under fire over comments he allegedly made about a woman who claims she was sexually abused by a priest when she was a child.

and

“The Premier has been assured that neither the Attorney-General nor his office has been involved in the consideration by the state’s legal authorities of allegations concerning Father Finian Egan,” the statement said.

Just popped in to remark on how absolutely depressing & predictable it is that every misrepresentation, segue, non sequitur & lie of Abbott’s about the HSU thing is parroted & disseminated by the MSM.
Sue at 10.36
I think Uhlmann’s getting worse by the day.
Was it ever FWA’s brief to produce a prosecutable case against Craig Thomson? Mr Abbott says it is now & it’ll just have to go back & try again.

Sue, computer is slow so I’m still on your 10.36pm mention of the HR Nicholls society.

For Cafe visitors who know nothing about the Society, one of it founders was one former Treasurer, Peter Costello.

Australia is a country in which political life is carried out through debate and argument. The Society’s ambition is to bring about, through the processes of debate and argument, urgently needed reform in Australia’s industrial relations attitudes, law and institutions, and thus to transform our labour market into a job-creating and wealth-generating engine of growth and prosperity.

Our aims are:

To promote discussion about the operation of industrial relations in Australia, including the system of determining wages and other conditions of employment.
To support the reform of Australian industrial relations with the aim of promoting the rule of law in respect of employers and employee organisations alike, the right of individuals to freely contract for the supply and engagement of their labour by mutual agreement, and the necessity for labour relations to be conducted in such a way as to promote economic development in Australia.

THE Craig Thomson affair has taken an extraordinary twist, with a three-year investigation by Fair Work Australia into alleged misconduct at the Health Services Union declared useless for preparing any prosecutions.

The declaration came ahead of the release of an explosive internal audit that is expected to lay bare extensive corruption within the union.

As the affair escalated, Prime Minister Julia Gillard continued to back Mr Thomson, the Labor MP who formerly headed the Health Services Union and who represents a key number in her minority government.

Fair Work on Tuesday gave the Director of Public Prosecutions its report. It found 181 breaches of civil law or other rules, and identified three former or current HSU officials – one of them understood to be Mr Thomson. Fair Work did not make any findings about criminal actions, leaving that to the DPP.

But DPP Chris Craigie, SC, said in a statement yesterday that for a matter to be assessed for prosecution, there needed to be a criminal investigation and a brief of evidence.

He pointed out that the letter from Fair Work made it clear it had not conducted a criminal probe and ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence”. Despite this, Mr Craigie said he would look at the material and consider what to do with it.

The DPP could hand material to police, but it first has to examine what it can legally pass to another agency. Victorian and NSW police are already investigating the union.

The DPP issue means a further delay in the affair, after the Fair Work inquiry took more than three years.

Meanwhile, pressure on union president Michael Williamson – who is understood to be among those named in the Fair Work report – continued to mount ahead of the release of findings by the HSU’s internal audit. Sources predicted attempted moves against Mr Williamson from within the union.

and it goes on and on.

That discussions have been held among senior officials in the union about taking legal action to try to prevent Mr Temby from releasing his findings. Mr Temby was expected to present his report to the HSU council, which meets on April 30, but its release date is now uncertain.

“The report summary obtained by The Daily Telegraph gives an insight into how Mr Thomson controlled the HSU for five years. It details dozens of transactions never brought before the national council.”

“A summary of the report lists a series of illegal donations, including $10,000 to the “Dads in Education” organisation in Mr Thomson’s local electorate.

It also showcases the Labor MP’s lavish spending as HSU boss, including $100,000 in cash withdrawals that were never ticked off or properly recorded. In terms of breaches of workplace laws, it lists “failing to keep financial records”, “failure to appoint auditor” and “failure to approve employment” of six union officials.”

The Mudginberri abattoir was the focus of a major industrial relations
dispute from 1983 to 1985 in Australia’s Northern Territory
..
The successful prosecution of the Australasian Meat Industry
Employees Union (AMIEU) under section 45D of the Trade Practices Act
(Secondary boycott provisions) was seen by the National Farmers
Federation and the developing New Right in and outside the Liberal
Party of Australia as a breakthrough in a campaign to break the power
of the unions and introduce contract employment.[1][2]

John Howard, then leader of the Opposition, urged the creation of many
more Mudginberris.

Barrister for Pendarvis and the NFF was Peter Costello, who was to
later co-found the H. R. Nicholls Society, act for Dollar Sweets in
the Dollar Sweets dispute and go on to become the federal treasurer in
the Howard Government and a prominent architect of the Howard
Government Industrial Relations reforms.[19]

..

By 1998 there were no functioning abattoirs in the Northern
Territory. Skilled men will not work in remote areas for peanuts.

FAIR Work Australia will release its findings against Craig Thomson next month, while his old union, the Health Services Union, faces threats of deregistration or being placed in the hands of administrators if it does not clean out its leadership.

[and]

It is understood the Temby report is less concerned with Mr Thomson, who was the union’s national secretary until he entered Parliament in 2007.

[and]

The acting national president of the HSU, Chris Brown, said ”the vast majority” of the contraventions involved Mr Thomson, including allegations he misused his union credit card to pay for prostitutes.

Hmm, “it is understood” said one thing, and the Acting National President of the HSU said another.

(Phil Coorey: “Fair Work, which was never tasked to look for criminal activity, nonetheless suspects there may be material warranting criminal investigation. But it refers it to a body that can’t do anything about it, instead of referring it to the police which is currently undertaking an investigation.”

Michelle Grattan: “He pointed out that the letter from Fair Work made it clear it had not conducted a criminal probe and ”the material forwarded is not a brief of evidence”. Despite this, Mr Craigie said he would look at the material and consider what to do with it. The DPP could hand material to police, but it first has to examine what it can legally pass to another agency. Victorian and NSW police are already investigating the union.”

Thinking generally about grundnorms/interests of justice, a(n un)certain amount of the ‘evidence’ upon which ‘investigating’ police might otherwise seek to rely presumably was gathered in a very specific way for a very specific purpose, and it might well be unconscionable and/or unreliable simply to transplant it somewhere else, a somewhere else with a different format and context, given that participants in one jurisdiction may well have chosen, have been advised, even have been required, to arrange their legitimate legal affairs differently than if they were to (have) be(en) presented in/with another jurisdiction, and per that other jurisdiction’s specific procedures, standards, and requirements. Any such further ‘investigation’ by police of those materials, on their own initiative or upon referral, presumably will need to keep that circumstance squarely in mind, as will any agency ‘examining’ what it can legally pass on.

Or, and for present purposes, one road-raging vigilante’s ‘brick wall’ to be busted through may be another person’s road divider, if and when it comes to conflicts of interests between left-hand and right-hand drive jurisdictions; and maintenance of general confidences in which set of road rules is which is possibly handiest of all, for all, when collision is the foreseeable consequence of (mis)application(s).

TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.

The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches.

“Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.”

So Phil Coorey can write, how about Phil confronting Abbott with this at a press conference. Show Abbott up for the crap he rants on about and on TV. And Phil if you won’t do it alert one of your colleagues, or at least someone with the guts to show Abbott up as the hypocrite he is.

Sue, this one is an excellent example of the way the msm treat Abbott with kid gloves. That is, even when Abbott is shown up to be a hyprocrite, the language used is very mild amounting to little more than a slap over the knuckles with a fluffy slipper.

not only could the journos challenge Abbott with his lack of understanding of the law’s he ushered in but how about Brandis, the supposed shadow attorney general, the person Abbott relies of for legal opinion. Brandis has either no understanding of the Act or choses to misrepresent the Act, either or is a pretty damning assessment of Brandis as an Attorney General.

I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.

On the australia Network.. Now that
“Sky UK has admitted it hacked for public good”

will the other members of the Sky tender, channel 7, telstra look to see if they have been misled by “sky’ or look to see if “sky” was the reason the tender was cancelled. the govt did say the process had been compromised by “leaks” it makes you wonder in what form the “leaks” occurred? we may never learn.

Sue, Brandis has me completely perplexed at times..not just over this but a number of issues. It seems to me strange that he puts forward certain arguments which are at odds with anyone with any vague training in law. The only thing that I can think of is that he believes that he can say what he likes, knowing that there is no one around to contradict him – and even if they are, that their opinion will receive scant attention from the media.

Listening to the media, there appears to be a great outcry about the Thompson Affair and FWA. Is this true.

There seems to be bigger outcry that the man is not being given the presumption of innocence.

There is disquiet at the statement of Mr,. Abbott and Mr. Brandis not basing their replies and demands on what the FWA is capable of delivering.

Both must know what the powers and intentions of FWA are.

Mr. Abbott is now attempting to say FWA is all the PM’s work. I will be surprise if this true. As we learnt in the Qantas dispute, much of FWA was transferred from earlier bills, such as WorkChoices, which in itself retain much from previous IR courts.

We are hearing from the Opposition that the evidence is black and white . This does not appear to be true. There are now allegations of a dysfunctional union over a great many years. The allegations investigations made appear to cover over eleven hundred pages. That in itself points to more that a credit card being used to but the services of a prostitute. It points to many being involved over many years.

It also point to a very complicated case-and it appears to be difficult to work out who should be investigating.

What is clear, Mr. Abbott is desperate to have Mr. Thompson drawn and slaughtered and has no regards for his legal rights ot the process involved in settling this matter.

Mr. Abbott is willing to slander ans condemn everyone dealing with the matter to achieve his aims. he has no respect for the legal processes of this country.

Myself being of a somewhat suspicious mind, could this be an attack on FWA itself. The opposition are going to want to make changes and what better way to start than to undermine FWA’s credibility. An old Howard trick.

CU @11.37pm 5/4, no, no! It’s not the same at all! As I explained to Sue, Father Egan is a priest, not an MP in a minority government which needs his vote to survive.

So it’s not the same at all. Father Egan has the presumption if innocence and we all know the wheels of the Church grind slowly and we mustn’t put any pressure on the Church to move it along.

Nor must we make presumptive statements about the good Father’s guilt or innocence as that could be prejudicial and it would be very naughty and quite possibly illegal.

No, Craig Thomson’s case is very different; because if we can force him out of Parliament, I, the great Sneerleader will be PM before that bitch Gillard and that cancerous blot, Swan get the Budget passed and people start realising I’m the worst LOTO in history and the mob of talentless hacks I lead couldn’t run a chook raffle that only sold 10 tickets!

TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.

The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches. Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.

FWA was asked to investigate whether the HSU, during the time Craig Thomson was the national secretary, breached the act.

so, originally the investigation looks to have been instigated specifically to catch Craig Thomson, and has blown out to the point where bigger fish have been entangled in the web!

I didn’t see your link when I posted mine but we should repost it every hour on the hour :smile:

Eddie @ 10.43am, thanks for the link to the Reith phone card scandal..

COMPERE: Now to Canberra, and who’s been using Peter Reith’s phone card, and who’s going to pay the $50,000 bill?

These were Opposition questions after it was revealed that Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith had racked up massive phone debts on a service he says he hadn’t used for years. He admitted he had given his son his card, a clear breach of the rules, but that only accounts for less than $1,000 worth of misuse. For that he was forgiven, by the Prime Minister at least, but not by the Opposition. Not when they have ‘Mr Waterfront Reform’ on the back-foot, as chief political correspondent Philip Williams reports from Canberra.

PHILIP WILLIAMS: Modern communications, the dog and bone, and today the call went out to Peter Reith – please explain how $50,000 worth of calls were clocked up on his tele-card account, some of which were racked up by his son.

Mr. Reith now writes regularly for the ABC’s The Drum and appears on the The Drum TV program and he’s still talking about industrial relations and “productivity”. [WorkChoices is still on the minds of the neo-conservatives].

Roswell, that is what the experts have been saying all a long. That is what Mr. Abbott and Mr. Brandis chooses to ignore.

Where is the outcry about the state of the union today from the Opposition.

Not a word uttered. Where is the concern doe the members in the latest developments. Not a word uttered.

It appears that the legislation that Mr. Abbott himself is to prevent his demands being carried out.

Why should FWA compile a brief of evidence they cannot use. They do not have the power to launch criminal matters. The are briefed to deal with civil matters in the IR court.

We do not have any knowledge, nor should Mr. Abbott, of the alleged corruption. We have no idea of what the corruption comprises of. Therefore we cannot say or suggest what FWA should now do.

We do not know what agencies should now be involved. Should it be state police. Should it be Federal police. Should it be those who investigate corporation matters. It could be any or combination of all.

NSW says investigation is proceeding well. Funny that they have not questioned Mr. Thompson.

Jane @ 11.06am, the stench of hypocrisy is all around the Abbott led gang of shysters.

The Liberal party has adopted lock, stock and barrel, the tactics used by the neocons in the US, and is eagerly supported by some very senior journalists.

Think-tank talking heads have taken over the public conversation and Tony has his very own gang of shock-jocks with their dirt campaigns against the mining tax, the carbon ‘tax’, the NBN, the pokies reform and last but not least, the very ugly campaign against our Prime Minister.

Also consider the mis-representation of the BER audit report, and the home insulation scheme, [pink batts].

Min, because he can. That’s the point isn’t it, that Abbott can and does say whatever he likes, as has Senator Brandis this week, and until the Phillip Coorey article today, not one of the hundreds of ‘Opinion” pieces has came close to challenging any of it

Stamps feet, rolls on floor, flails arms, sobs shrilly. Everyone walks over the top of screaming toddler. They’ve seen it all before!

I wonder if Sneerleader is on notice-nail the government or we’ll be looking at our vast pool of talent for a replacement.

Min @7.45am, rofl. So Sneerleader is the one responsible for the very thing he’s whining about!! Justice!

grodo @7.45am, Carter’s science is tainted. He is not independent of those he is investigating.

And Phil if you won’t do it alert one of your colleagues, or at least someone with the guts to show Abbott up as the hypocrite he is.

Just saw a mob of pigs flying overhead, Sue. and wrt Brandis, I go for deliberate misrepresentation.

Tom R @8.58am, oh noes! Those cloistered bastards, again!

Min, Brandis can say what he likes in the sure and certain knowledge that the msm will NEVER challenge what he says. The same goes for Sneerleadeer with extra sugar and a cherry on top.

Anthony G @10.58am, you’re not being suspicious, imo. For the Liars it would kill two birds with one stone. Sneerleader is the Rodent’s political love child, it’s in his DNA.

CU @11.15am, precisely. Why would the ACTU have waited for 5+ years to take this action? It’s illogical and makes absolutely no sense whatever.

But we’re forgetting…we’re dealing with Sneerleader. Logic, morality, truth, integrity and honesty are thrown out of the window and lies, distortions, misrepresentations, immorality, innuendo and dishonesty are welcomed with open arms.

Pip @11.21am. It’s hilarious, isn’t it? He’s the architect of his inability to impeach Craig Thomson. I hope his nose is being ground into this fact daily.

Pip @12.16pm, and the blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the msm, who are every bit as corrupt as the Liars Party. Had they made ANY attempt at honest reporting for the last 3 years, the government would be hailed as a great success and their actions during the GFC lauded.

We would also not have the government tying itself in knots to achieve that most useless of objectives; a surplus.

I pray that the Empire is utterly destroyed and lies in tatters at the Emperor’s feet and his minions in the msm are cast out on the ashes to starve.

Antony, the further into the current parliamentary term we go, the more the
Coalition has tried to bring about the destruction of Labor and the unions.
Of course that isn’t what Opposition parties are paid to do but they don’t care.

Whatever their reasoning, they’ve been so cocky, not to mention angry… they are all so angry…. they should be angry with the machinations that put Abbott in as their Leader. after all it’s no secret that he’s a one dimensional
drop-kick, an ideologue, a puppet doing the bidding of the powerful.

I too have given annabelle something to read. The PM’s statement on the australia network decision “We have done the right thing” has a bit more weight when you read Sky UK say “we hacked for the public good” .
not a good reference for a company that wanted to handle “soft diplomacy” on behalf of the australian govt.

Jane the hour is up…time to repost this…. in fact it’s time to post this on as many sites as possible!

Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal chargesApril 6, 2012

Opinion

TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002

Does anyone realize if Mr. Abbott fell opn his sword at this time, the Opposition would have to rebuild itself.

He is becoming increasing isolated and on his own.

We have Mr. Brandis supporting him on this one issue,

Where are the likes of Mirabella, Robb, Hockey, Hunt, and anyone else. They all give the impression of keeping their heads down. They pop up now and then to make a comment relating to their own interest and quickly disappear again.

The only other one we are hearing from, is Mr. Turnbull. Not exactly out there praising Mr. Abbott.

In comparison we have the PM and ALL her ministers out each day announcing and putting in place policy.

Korea Set to Try Again on Carbon Trading, Climate Head Says
By Sangim Han – Mar 19, 2012

Korea Set to Try Again on Carbon Trading, Climate Head Says
South Korea, the fastest-growing emitter among rich nations, will try again to pass a bill that sets up emissions trading in 2015 and allows lawmakers to work out details later this year, a top climate official said.</blockquote>

Bayside residents need to brace themselves for the impact of the carbon tax and the changes to the private health insurance rebate, both due to commence in 100 days.

In exactly 100 days, Bayside householders will start paying more for electricity, the essentials of life and for private health insurance, Federal Member for Goldstein Andrew Robb said.

The carbon tax and the changes to the private health insurance rebate will put great pressure on household budgets.

Julia Gillard promised “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead” and also promised she would not touch the private health insurance rebate – she broke her word to Bayside householders on both counts.

Where are the likes of Mirabella, Robb, Hockey, Hunt, and anyone else. They all give the impression of keeping their heads down. They pop up now and then to make a comment relating to their own interest and quickly disappear again.

The only other one we are hearing from, is Mr. Turnbull. Not exactly out there praising Mr. Abbott.

Pip, of course Abbott’s Direct Action Plan can achieve only sweet bugger all. Abbott’s plan would be lucky to achieve even minimal impact on coastal erosion and saltification much less an impact on climate change.

Pip @1.00pm, I agree. The sooner people realise that Sneerleader is the one who’s shit in his own nest and is too crooked or stupid to know it, the better.

@1.34pm, it’d take a week to get around Slagabella and Joe doesn’t just look like a buffoon. :shock:

CU, I can’t believe you’d think I’d take the mick wrt that vast untapped pool of talent which is the Parliamentary Liars Party. :shock:

Just look at the Shadow Ministry-absolutely crammed with the stuff.

I mean just look at the short list: there’s Prissy whose bulging eyed, scarlett faced tantrums are second only to his fearless leader’s, Sloppy Joe, renowned for his iron grip on all things economic, Barnyard, who admittedly has a slight problem driving through puddles, Eyes Bishop who has scored so many telling points against the government, Bronnie, a lover of kero baths for the elderly and bringing up the rear we’ve got the lovely Vampirella Slagabella, who has a penchant for elderly, wealthy lawyers with Alzheimer’s.

Seriously, how could you go past any of these talent laden pretenders to the throne.

I invite everyone to feel free to add their personal favourites. :mrgreen:

TRICKY TIMES: Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Government has been on the back foot all week, dogged by issues of trust and competency. Source: The Courier-Mail

Funny, I thought Labor was having a good week. It is Mr. Abbott that does not seem to be getting his own way.

We have Mr. Albanese out again today pushing for the second Sydney Airport which cannot be put off much longer.

The PM has been out all over the country, looking relaxed and confident. The states have been dealt with. Her ministers are seen all over the place with important announcement.

Mr. Thompson’s plight has occupied little of her time.

What have seen of Mr. Abbott. Either on a bike or fronting the media with lies and attempts to bully independent bodies, including the DPP and police in two states.

The hysteria from the man is increasing every day, until he now sounds shrill. The noise and mis-reporting from the media is not far behind.

Time is fast running out for the man.

The government has already moved on to new pastures, which I believe will and are being well received by the public.

Mr. Abbott is being left behind and is fast becoming irrelevant.

EASTER is a time to reflect on death and resurrection, but as Prime Minister Julia Gillard reflects on the sinking fortunes of her Labor Government, she will be hard-pressed to see signs of a revival.

If there is a thread that pulls together events of the past week, it is that Labor and the wider labour movement need to get their houses in order to rebuild public trust and respect.

The latest Nielsen poll has Tony Abbott’s Coalition maintaining a landslide-winning lead, with federal Labor’s primary vote slumping to a near-record low – similar to the devastating result at last month’s Queensland state election.

While most senior Labor figures dismissed the polls, Foreign Minister Bob Carr took a more sober view, saying it was clear that if an early election was held the government would fall.

and this very balance opinion.

Mr Abbott neatly pulled together the problems facing the Prime Minister, Mr Thomson and the unions when talking to reporters in Cairns.

“If the ACTU is cutting the Health Services Union adrift because it doesn’t maintain decent ethical standards, what is the Prime Minister going to do about the HSU’s representative in the Parliament?

“Is she going to cling to Craig Thomson as a lifeline while the ACTU is cutting the Health Services Union adrift?”

Mr Thomson’s vote is crucial to the minority Government surviving to the next election, due in late 2013.

It’s now more than likely he will avoid any criminal case that could see him expelled from Parliament.

As much as Mr Abbott would like an early election, he’s happy to leave the pall hanging over the Government and union movement.

A new facet to our PM, who many claim as a barren, unmarried woman, living in sin that has no life experiences. The story sounds very genuine. In a way it was the way I managed my own children at times. Not Sallies though.

Ms Gillard announced the government’s appeal contribution of $350,000 during a visit to her home city of Adelaide on Thursday.

As a youngster, the prime minister spent a lot of time at Sunset Lodge, where her mother was a cook at an aged care home, run by the Salvation Army.

Her mother would run out and pick up the young Ms Gillard from school, and the future Labor leader would sit on a stool in the kitchen watching her work until 6.30pm.

“And when I tell people that story, it all sounds a bit, you know, Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, doesn’t it?” she said at a breakfast in Adelaide.

“A small girl sitting on a stool in a kitchen for a number of hours every day … but it wasn’t like that at all because it really was a very special place, full of a lot of love and friendship.”

It was particularly special to be around 70 to 80 older women for a small migrant girl, with no extended family or grandparents in the country, the prime minister said

BARRY O’Farrell’s behaviour over the past week has been baffling.
Last Sunday, we carried a front page story revealing parliament’s road safety advisory group was urging the government to consider extending school zone hours.
The Premier obviously had plans for his Sunday that didn’t include having to deal with a potentially unpopular proposal. So, instead of batting the proposal away as a recommendation he wasn’t so keen on, he took aim at The Sunday Telegraph.
Mr O’Farrell’s strategy was simple: kill the story in its tracks so it didn’t feature on radio news bulletins all day, and didn’t get a run on the high-rating Sunday night TV news.
Mr O’Farrell told journalists that the story was ‘BS’ and speculated the source of the “inaccurate” story was Labor upper house MP Walt Secord.

and

Sunday papers – there is no recommendation in his report to extend the hours of speed zones outside schools,” he said.
With no other journalists having access to the yet-to-be published report, it was an easy kill, and his media strategy for that day stayed on course.
The problem for Mr O’Farrell is that the story was accurate. Two days later, on Tuesday, the report was tabled in parliament, and there it was: “Recommendation 18.

Cu, O’Farrell’s behaviour is baffling, or is it cynical manipulation of the media for his own interests?
It should be called by it’s proper name.. a lie.

He then trashed Sunday newspapers in general.

“I’ve talked to the chairman of the committee this morning, and surprisingly – this is my scepticism about other stories in the Sunday papers – there is no recommendation in his report to extend the hours of speed zones outside schools,” he said.

With no other journalists having access to the yet-to-be published report, it was an easy kill, and his media strategy for that day stayed on course.

The problem for Mr O’Farrell is that the story was accurate. Two days later, on Tuesday, the report was tabled in parliament, and there it was: “Recommendation 18.

TONY ABBOTT’S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced as the workplace relations minister in 2002.

The Registered Organisations Act, which details the rules about the financial management of organisations such as unions, provides for civil, not criminal, penalties for breaches. Consequently, the investigation by FWA was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges and it was not surprising the Commonwealth DPP said the 1100-page report referred to it by FWA was of next to no use because it did not amount to a brief of evidence.

Min,Min
Cu, and isn’t about time that we, the people learned about our Prime Minister’s real life. When you think about it, we know very little about this little redheaded Welsh immigrant girl.

Well, we know our Prime Minister is single, childless, sorry, “deliberately barren”, she’s an atheist, she was found to have an empty fruit bowl in her kitchen immediately after returning from a trip away, AND she’s a red-head.

Cu, any reporter, [read gossip columnist], or politician suggesting to a reporter that they should write about a relationship that the Prime Minister had about 15 years ago, is treading on thin ice.
It would be an interesting exercise to check out the private lives of all the Prime Minister’s detractors!

Who knows what we mght turn up?

We already know about one unfortunate relationship that Mr. Abbott walked/ran away from when the going got tough!!

Hi Jane, re Ruddock, we’ll probably never know who the ‘real Philip’ really is.
Was nice Philip for real way back then, or was that just an image, or was he corrupted under the Rodent’s regime?
He rarely speaks out these days, and I can’t help hoping that he’s full of regrets.

The last time I read of a comment from one of Tony Abbott’s sisters was many years ago during the ‘lost son’ saga, when one of his sisters referred to the ‘lost son’s’ mother as ‘that woman’. I cannot find the article now.

Now another sister is in the spotlight at a most opportune time for her brother.
On the same weekend as one lonely article appeared which uncovered Abbott’s incompetence and deceit, his sister comes to the rescue.

Abbott’s own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
April 6, 2012.

VOTERS know that Tony Abbott opposes gay marriage but what he hasn’t been able to share with the electorate until now is the compassion and support he’s shown towards his sister, Christine Forster, since she has come out as a gay woman.
The siblings are extremely close and strikingly similar in appearance and personality but they stand on different sides of the gay marriage debate. The Opposition Leader is a traditionalist who believes marriage is for men and women. Ms Forster is committed to a live-in relationship with her partner, Virginia Edwards.

So far so good.

“In response to the media interest, I have decided to publicly confirm that I am gay and am in a committed, live-in relationship,” Ms Forster said. “My brother and I have always had a strong relationship and he respects and supports me and my lifestyle choices.”

Has there really been “media interest”?

Unable to reveal the personal dimension to this political fracas, Mr Abbott has been hostage to caricature, with critics lambasting his social conservatism and commentators suggesting he should get to know some gay people. Ms Forster wished at times she could have enlightened the community with her experience of his empathy.

Now for the punchline, or should that be another bit of Julia bashing?

When Julia Gillard hosted gay couples to a dinner at the Lodge, the event made headlines around the country. Mr Abbott and his wife, Margie, have welcomed Ms Forster and Ms Edwards to their home as a couple on countless occasions without fanfare or fuss. They know more about gay relationships than people think.

The “headlines around the country” are easily explained. they were not the result of government spin, rather, the dinner with the Prime Minister was organised by GetUp who saw to it that it received publicity in aid of the same sex marriage campaign.

It’s very hard to be convinced with this puff piece; the timing is too pat after Phil Coorey’s article which revealed the news that Abbott legislated in part the FWA rules which prevent the over the top demands Abbott has made about the FWA.
Besides, I haven’t been able to find any sign of “media interest” anywhere!

Mr. Dutton, I am afraid your tears will fall on barren ground. Hot rage because they will have to wait for something they do not need or want.

Mr. Dutton, one cannot have it both ways.

The rage, if is it there, is because they know if your lot get into power, they will not get it at ALL.

I would like to remind Mr. Dutton, Labor tried to bring your, I believe 17th scheme into being. It was not possible. Telstra’s copper wire got in the way.

If Mr. Howard had separated Telstra’s two arms, you might have had success while in power.

COALITION frontbencher Peter Dutton says there is “white hot rage” among the constituents of his Brisbane electorate who believe neighbouring Labor seats are being given priority when it comes to the rollout of the $36 billion National Broadband Network.

The Australian reported on Thursday that NBN rollout maps show that by next year’s election, the network build would have started across most of Wayne Swan’s electorate of Lilley.

The rollout is also due to start across most of Trade Minister Craig Emerson’s electorate within three years, and both Kevin Rudd’s seat of Griffith and Labor MP Bernie Ripoll’s seat of Oxley are slated to benefit from the early stages of the NBN.

and

Senator Conroy has also accused the Coalition of hypocrisy for complaining that Labor seats have been given precedence in the rollout, when the opposition will not proceed with the NBN if it was to win the next election.

Mr Dutton said his electorate would already be served by high-speed broadband under the Coalition’s 2010 telecommunications policy.

Another Coalition MP, Wyatt Roy, whose electorate of Longman sits north of Mr Dutton’s, said he too had received calls from constituents: “They’re disappointed the Labor party has politicised the rollout, but they also have questions more generally about the NBN and whether it represents value for money.”

Cu, the Coalition have changed tack – it’s not just about cost now, but complaints that their electorates aren’t on the first ‘to do’ list!

Several articles full of nonsense but this one cuts through.

Rollout Times Will Be The New NBN Battlefield
Alex Kidman Gizmodo AU April 3, 2012

When the NBN three year rollout plan was announced last Thursday, Malcolm Turnbull was quick to go on the attack, as is Coalition policy in these cases. But something had changed; rather than complain on the grounds of cost, the new battlefront appears to be one of timing.

At yesterday’s NBN Co media briefing, representatives were quick to label Turnbull’s attacks as “odd” based on the difference between the trial and stage one rollouts, but it appears that Coalition MPs aren’t done with this particular tack as yet.

In a release on his Website, Federal MP for Wide Bay (Fraser Coast, South Burnett, Cooloola Coast) Warren Truss has the following statement:

I also doubt you have the skills, experience or self-confidence to have accepted the obvious job after losing the last election, namely shadow treasurer. You’d be lost without Treasury. You may have delivered 11 budgets but ask yourself honestly how many of them were actually yours, rather than Treasury’s. I am told Treasury is now drawing a sharp contrast between your little interest and involvement and that of Wayne Swan.

As we are now up to 469 comments on this topic, it’s time for a new Open Thread. I’ve placed a link to Open Thread XIX at the top of the page..or at least attempted to. Mucked it up slightly but it will do until Migs is back to fix it up. :)

A GROUP of federal Coalition MPs has begun a behind-the-scenes campaign in a desperate bid to persuade the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, to drop his opposition to a second airport in the Sydney basin.

The MPs want to avoid what some describe as the ”armageddon scenario” spelt out in a recent report if immediate action is not taken to start planning for a second airport – of traffic gridlock around Sydney Airport, air travel delays, lost jobs and economic growth and a return to the concentration of aircraft noise that plagued Sydney in the 1990s.

Is this what the Liberal party is based on today. HATE and little more.

She does not have the sort of confidence in Abbott that a facile reading of polling data might suggest the Liberals ought to enjoy.
As one veteran Liberal MP lamented, “We are constantly exhorted now to see Labor not as a political adversary but as a hated enemy. That does not go down well in the electorate.”
You bet it doesn’t. Any fool can create more heat than light. If you don’t have any solutions – an Abbott doesn’t – then it’s incumbent upon you to shut your face.

Archie, interesting indeed. We had the now elderly of the Great Depression, followed by the Boomers. As a late Boomer, I wouldn’t say that we were spoilt..in that everything was very frugal in the ’50’s, nothing wasted..shoes were resoled, newspaper used to wrap garbage, the tough end of the lamb went to make soup as did left over vegies.

I rather think that it all happened with the advent of the credit card where people no longer had to save in order to buy what they wanted. Then came the fall.

ps. Our Open Threads go over to the next Open Thread. This is purely house keeping as people with mobile devices and old computers have problems downloading when the topic extends to over 400 comments. Hence the reason for putting up a new Open Thread or Media Watch thread.